The algorithms managing the live update of the Ligue 1 standings hardly had time to rest on Saturday, June 3. On the occasion of the 38th and final day of the French championship, all the meetings took place at the same time. And depending on the minutes, several teams have seen their hopes in turn be revived, or fly away.
At the end of the matches on the ten lawns, the Ligue 1 season has therefore delivered its verdict. First among the “winning” teams of the day, FC Nantes saved their head in Ligue 1, and sent Auxerre to Ligue 2. For their part, Rennes secured fourth place, and a participation in Europa League, ahead of Lille, which will play in the Europa League Conference. As for Paris, crowned champion of France for the eleventh time last week, this trying season ends with a home defeat against Clermont.
A week before, they thought their team was doomed to return to the bottom echelon. But the supporters of FC Nantes celebrated the victory (1-0) of their team, Saturday against Angers – already relegated – as a success in the Cup. After almost four months without a win in Ligue 1, Ludovic Blas’ teammates won the game that mattered most this season.
The only scorer in the game, Ignatius Ganago tipped Beaujoire into an unreal atmosphere despite the closing of the stand for his ultras. Suspended by the result of Auxerre, who received Lens, the Canaries exploded with joy after the final whistle, and will be one of the eighteen teams to start the 2023-2024 season in Ligue 1.
“We’re relieved. A lot of people thought we had let go but we showed that we were there, said Jean-Charles Castelletto on Prime Video. It was difficult but I don’t care, we are maintained in Ligue 1, we are moving forward. »
If Nantes laughs, Auxerre, for its part, cries. Beaten 3-1 on their lawn by insatiable Lensois, despite a secure second place, the AJA players could not prevent their team from making the lift. A year after its promotion to Ligue 1, the Icaunais club is back in Ligue 2, where it will accompany Angers, Ajaccio and Troyes.
“Regrets are not tonight. We missed the mark in the last four or five matches in which we lost points, admitted Auxerre coach Christophe Pélissier. We were lucky to go that far because in February, everyone saw us at the bottom. And we had that final. “But faced with Lensois determined to savor their superb season to the end, his troops were unable to win.
If the podium and its order – Paris, Lens, Marseille – were assured at the start of this 38th day, the rest of the European places were up for grabs. And as at the bottom of the table, the situation evolved over the hours on Saturday, seeing the three belligerent clubs in turn hope, or become disillusioned. In this little game, Rennes ended the season with a bang, chaining a fourth victory in a row against Brest (2-1). Fifth before kick-off, the Bretons stole the place from Lille, unable to win in Troyes (1-1).
Despite numerous chances, several bars hit and a penalty whistled at the very end of the match in their favor… before being canceled by the VAR, Lille could not win on the lawn of the Aube club, already relegated. An epilogue in the image of their season, where Paulo Fonseca’s men alternated between very good and average; but the northern club, fifth in the end, will play in the Europa League Conference play-offs.
As for the Monegasques, long in the running for a place in the Champions League, they end the 2022-2023 campaign in the ditch. Beaten for the third time in a row by Toulouse (1-2), ASM finished the championship in sixth place. Either out of the way for European qualification, which the Principality club has only experienced twice since 2014.
If the Parisian players lifted the Hexagoal well – the trophy rewarding the champion of France – on Saturday, the men of Christophe Galtier concluded their season with a final defeat. On their lawn, Clermont came to win (3-2) in an evening dedicated to Parisian goalkeeper Sergio Rico, seriously injured on Sunday in a riding accident.
“The most important thing was the tribute to Sergio. There is more important than football, insisted Kylian Mbappé at the microphone of Prime Video. On the pitch, we were already champions, we could have lost 22-0, it wouldn’t have changed anything for us. »
If the captain of the Blues added a 29th goal to his collection of the year in Ligue 1, ensuring the passage of a fifth trophy for top scorer in the championship in a row, the Parc des Princes did not reserve a warm welcome to Lionel Messi, who played his final meeting in Parisian colors – the club having formalized his departure in the afternoon. Whistled during the announcement of the composition of the teams, the “Pulga” hardly weighed on the meeting. As for two years in Paris, which should once again engage in a major summer project.
PSG coach Christophe Galtier said on Saturday that he had “no” feedback from management on his future, before a meeting scheduled “at the beginning of the week to take stock”.
In the final classification of Ligue 1, Paris is only ahead of Lens by one point (85 points against 84). Marseille, also beaten for the last outing of their coach Igor Tudor (0-1 at Ajaccio), completes the podium. Finally, Lyon ended their difficult season with a final defeat, in Nice (1-3), and finished the championship, which will have seen the end of the reign of Jean-Michel Aulas, in seventh position.
