Here we are ! After two months of waiting, Ligue 1 restarts on Friday August 11 with an enticing Nice-Lille. For the first time in two decades, the championship starts on a formula with 18 teams and 34 days.
The objective of the authorities is to tighten the level and to have more competitiveness, in order to then benefit from it on the European Cups where the French clubs have very often been struggling in recent years.
Nasser al-Khelaïfi had announced for a while his intention to do away with the stars of PSG to refocus on the collective. The Qatari president did not go out of his way this summer: Messi not retained, Verratti and Neymar put on the market, Mbappé ostracized, the Parisian staff showed the muscles after the mistakes of recent seasons.
The PSG transfer window is rather interesting: no glitter, collective players who wet their jerseys and FINALLY a bench that has not finished building… ???? pic.twitter.com/ZRdEuMNQHC
To start this new cycle, Luis Enrique arrived with his experience as a Barça and Spain coach, accompanied by many new faces supposed to embody this PSG far from bling-bling. Lucas Hernandez, Milan Skriniar, Manuel Ugarte, Marco Asensio, Ousmane Dembélé, Gonçalo Ramos or even Kang-In Lee: the Parisian leaders have already spent more than 200 million euros for this intensive renewal. But after a delicate preparation and an always tense situation with Mbappé, PSG will not have the right to make mistakes for their start. And with the Champions League in sight, it will certainly not be necessary that doubt quickly seizes the capital.
The Sang et Or will now be expected in Ligue 1. After their remarkable second place last season, Franck Haise’s men will have to confirm and also rediscover the Champions League, 20 years later. The Northerners suffered two hard blows with the departures of Loïs Openda and especially Seko Fofana, the captain, who gave in to the sirens of Saudi Arabia.
But as always with Racing, everything is calculated and anticipated. The transfer window has been active and is not yet complete. “What matters most to me is the collective ambition of RC Lens,” Franck Haise said in early June. I know our resources, I’m not asking crazy things of my management, but I want us to continue to move forward and progress. “With the arrivals of Andy Diouf, Stijn Spierings, Oscar Cortes and Morgan Guilavogui for the moment, the Lensois have made adjustments to their collective, while waiting for the center forward who must come to replace Openda. Despite all these changes and this new label, the Artois club still has resources to surprise us.
Nothing will be spared for OL supporters: with the end of the Aulas era and the start of the John Textor cycle, the Lyonnais hope to return to the top. But it was without counting on an internal cacophony and the DNCG came to put a spoke in the wheels of the new main shareholder. Result ? Many uncertainties surround Laurent Blanc’s team before the resumption. OL’s preparation has also been worrying at all levels, especially in terms of content.
Olympique Lyonnais has nevertheless recruited Clinton Mata, Skelly Alvero, Duje Caleta-Car and Ainsley Maitland-Niles to expand its workforce. But the departure of Castello Lukeba in Leipzig and the vagueness around Bradley Barcola challenge at a time when OL claim to regain their rank. Difficult to keep pace now with increasingly ambitious teams who do not hesitate to spend substantial sums to strengthen themselves. We will have to stand up around General Lacazette and hope for a good offensive pick by the end of August, in order to see OL limit the damage.
For OM, competition has already resumed with the preliminary rounds of the Champions League. And the first leg against Panathinaikos showed that the Phocaeans were not yet ready at all levels. However, Olympique de Marseille has quickly drawn on the transfer market with arrivals of a certain caliber: Geoffrey Kondogbia, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Renan Lodi, Ismaïla Sarr and Iliman Ndiaye. With Marcelino now on the bench, OM aspire to once again become a team that counts in Europe after the latest disappointments.
But the busy schedule of this recovery with matches every three days and European obstacles puts the Marseillais directly in the heart of the matter. “We entered a positive situation. You have to gain height. We have stabilized the club economically, recalled President Longoria recently. It will be even more positive in the future. We will be able to build on solid foundations. But nothing is legitimate if there are no good sports results next to it. We must continue on this trend without imposing limits. “With potentially seven games to play by September 2, OM will quickly be set on their ability to be competitive on all fronts.
Rennes, Lille, Nice, Reims, Monaco: Ligue 1 can count on many European contenders this season, with now two additional places for continental competitions through the championship. Via the CVC commercial deal and increasingly successful sales, some clubs no longer hesitate to provide the means necessary to grow.
The case of Stade de Reims is striking, the Champagne formation is carrying out its most expensive transfer window with already 37 million euros spent, and it is probably not over. In another genre, Strasbourg has changed in dimension with the arrival of BlueCo, also a shareholder of Chelsea. The Alsatians have already brought in several young talents who will undoubtedly be revelations in the coming months.
The last 4 Strasbourg recruits: – Abakar Sylla ???? (2002) – Emanuel Emegha ???? (2003) – Dilane Bakwa ???? (2002) – Junior Mwanga ???? (2003) 53 M€ invested. The BlueCo project is very identified for Alsatians: capturing and capitalizing on young talent. ?? @RCSA pic.twitter.com/k3fpfGiL54
Among the other curiosities of the season, we will follow Paulo Fonseca’s second season at Losc after the great promises in the game last year. For the moment Jonathan David is still there, and the Mastiffs have seen the 2018 world champion Samuel Umtiti come to reinforce the rearguard. Stade Rennes for its part has brought in two aesthetes of the championship with Enzo Le Fée and Ludovic Blas. The Bretons aspire to regain the Champions League and assert their status. Finally, we will take a look at the promoted Le Havre who returns to L1 after 14 years of absence, and an attractive project led by Mathieu Bodmer.
