Ligue 1 ended on Saturday June 3 with a tense final day for the European places and the last relegated. Overall, this championship will have been rhythmic and entertaining. We hope that this intensity and these individuals in sight will finally allow France to break the glass ceiling in the European Cup after the new disappointments of this season. Here are our reviews!
Teachers’ favorites. After two good seventh places in L1, the Sang et Or wanted to validate their progress by getting closer to European places. Franck Haise’s men did much better in securing second place and with style. Loïs Openda, Seko Fofana, Brice Samba, Kevin Danso… RC Lens was able to count on many strong men to make the difference. The tenth budget of the championship ends just one point behind Paris Saint-Germain, enough to leave some regrets with, in particular, the return match and the early red card of Salis Abdul Samed. Twenty years later, Bollaert will return to the Champions League and the anthem of the Corons will resound with pride in the northern enclosure.
A flawless season… ??
Two exemplary students. Not retained in the five best players of the season during the UNFP Trophies, the Lyon striker signed his return to France with panache: 27 goals and a Kylian Mbappé challenged to the end at the top of the scoring charts. The captain of OL will inevitably regret that his team ends up outside of European places, but as a guide for this Lyon youth who must reach maturity, he has fulfilled his role perfectly. Among the other notable scorers of this season, a big crush on Elye Wahi (Montpellier) and Habib Diallo (Strasbourg) who have greatly contributed to the maintenance of their teams.
Less than two hours drive from Lyon, a club has caused a sensation this season. By finishing in eighth place for its second year in the elite, Clermont Foot defied all predictions. The druid Pascal Gastien was able to bring the 19th budget of L1 in the first part of the classification. By beating in particular PSG, Rennes and twice OL, the Auvergne team proved that David can always overthrow Goliath.
Arriving at Losc to replace Jocelyn Gourvennec and relaunch a team that had fallen into anonymity after their 2021 title, Paulo Fonseca had a tall order in the North. If everything has not been perfect with a certain inefficiency in the two surfaces, the content offered by Lille this season has been regularly of quality. With in particular a reinvigorated Rémy Cabella and a revived André Gomes, Losc were attractive and hooked the Conference League by finishing in fifth place.
The freewheeling end of the season for Olympique de Marseille, notably beaten by Ajaccio and Brest, should not make us forget all the achievements of Igor Tudor and his family. OM offers itself a second podium in two years and validates at least this progress. When the Marseille collective was well oiled, it was a real steamroller. We will regret the failures in the Coupe de France and the Champions League, but also an Alexis Sanchez dependency.
Its end to the season as a cannonball allowed Stade Rennes to secure a sixth consecutive European qualification. If Rennes confirmed its rank, the injury of Martin Terrier in December terribly hurt the Bretons, who were unable, for a long time, to find their offensive balance without him. But with Doku, Bourigeaud, Gouiri or even Majer, the SRFC has assets that allowed it to finish with a bang. The notebook is satisfactory, but the club can do so much better.
Among the good surprises of the season on the benches, we necessarily think of Will Still, who knew how to remain invincible for 19 games after replacing Oscar Garcia in Reims. The young 30-year-old coach has lifted his team and with the revelation Folarin Balogun (21 goals) he has already made a name for himself for the future. If he remains annoyed by the comparison with the football management video game Football Manager, Will Still inevitably bears the label of geek who knew how to combine skills and modernity.
Paris Saint-Germain won an eleventh Ligue 1 title, an unprecedented performance in the history of French football. But with the umpteenth disappointment in the Champions League, the tensions around Messi and Neymar and the controversies linked to Christophe Galtier, the party was not intense in the capital. With 20% of games lost in all competitions this season, PSG looks gray and no longer appears invincible as during the time of Ibrahimovic. Already focused on next season and the major maneuvers expected this summer, Kylian Mbappé and his teammates aspire to more peace of mind and above all to regain momentum in Europe.
The bronca of the Park also for Leo Messi. ?? @CanalplusFoot pic.twitter.com/PQgOR0d26s
At the back of the class, two students have missed out on their year. Accustomed to ending their seasons as a cannonball, AS Monaco was a big disappointment. By winning only one of their last seven games – against Angers already relegated – Wissam Ben Yedder and his family have lost the thread. Philippe Clement has never been able to find the formula to get closer to OM and RC Lens. With a goalkeeper, Alexander Nübel, very fragile, and executives in distress, the Rock club was scuttled. Worse: AS Monaco ends its season without a European Cup, a first for three years.
No continental competition either for OGC Nice, which has been yo-yoing this season: a failed start, a nice electroshock with the arrival of Didier Digard on the bench then a team that falls into line to end on a disappointing ninth place. With the means invested under Ineos, including 84 million euros this season, the Aiglons cannot be satisfied with that and will have to redouble their efforts to get closer to the first wagons of Ligue 1.
The dunce cap of our championship cannot escape the SCO, which had a nightmarish season from start to finish. In addition to repeated failures on the ground, the Angers club experienced many internal problems with legal adventures and dismissals in shambles. With only 18 points, he is narrowly better than the RC Lens of 1988-1989 who finished with 17 points on the clock. After being a model student for a long time, the SCO skipped school. Relegated to Ligue 2 with Auxerre, Troyes and Ajaccio, Angers will have to seriously question themselves to revive.
Our typical team:
Samba – Frankowski, Dance, Mbemba, Nuno Mendes – Rongier, Fofana – Love, Messi, Mbappe – Lacazette
Our XI favorites
Knight – Kumbedi, Talbi, Seidu, Neto Borges – H. Diarra, André Gomes, Cabella – Barcola, Balogun, Wahi
