The outcome of Ligue 2 is near. After ten months of competition, the twenty teams in the championship compete on the thirty-eighth and final day of the season on Friday May 17, at 8:45 p.m. If the fate of the majority of teams is sealed, other clubs still have valuable points to be won. Either to access Ligue 1, or to avoid demotion to the National (third division). In this multiplex of ten matches, six will have a sporting stake. Overview of the main issues of this last day of Ligue 2.
Behind Auxerre, assured of finishing first in the championship and returning to the elite of French football next season, two teams are eyeing second place: SCO Angers and AS Saint-Etienne. Synonymous with direct promotion to Ligue 1, this runner-up position has been hotly contested for two months by the two clubs.
After a disappointing draw the previous weekend, against Rodez (1-1), the Greens were once again overtaken by the Angevins and are no longer masters of their destiny. With two points ahead of “Sainté”, Angers (67 points) will return to Ligue 1 if they win at home against Dunkirk (16th). In the process of being bought by the Canadian group Kilmer Sports Ventures, ASSE will have to, to regain second place, win at Quevilly Rouen Métropole (QRM) and at the same time hope for a misstep from Angers.
Finishing in first or second place is obviously the simplest solution to move up to Ligue 1. But it is not the only one. Another Ligue 2 team will play a round-trip play-off against the 16th in Ligue 1 to try to return to the elite. In order to determine who will have this privilege, the format is as follows: the 5th in Ligue 2 travels to the 4th, and the winner of this match will then face the 3rd on their home soil. The winner of this final match will face the Ligue 1 team in question (probably Metz) in a “play-off” (one first leg, one second leg).
Mathematically, it is certain that third place will go to Saint-Etienne or Angers. On the other hand, for the fourth and fifth nothing is yet decided. Paris FC, which has not played in the French first division since 1979, is currently 4th (58 points) and will retain its place if it wins in Bastia. Rodez (5th with 57 points) is also on track to finish in the top 5. In the event of a victory against AC Ajaccio, the Ruthenian club, still an amateur five seasons ago and which has never experienced Ligue 1, will be 5th at least.
Only SM Caen can still come back to these two formations and play spoilsport. To do this, the Normans must win against Valenciennes and hope, at the same time, for a defeat by Rodez or Paris FC. The goal difference between the teams could be decisive.
Before this last day of the championship, three of the four teams which will go down to National are known: Concarneau (18th), QRM (19th) and Valenciennes (20th). Logically, Troyes (17th) should also have been condemned to demotion, because it is five points behind Annecy and Dunkirk, the first non-relegation places. But their meeting on Friday May 3, against Valenciennes, caused trouble at the bottom of the standings.
In the 88th minute, Trojan supporters threw numerous smoke bombs onto the pitch, unhappy to see their team struggling against the bottom of the championship. The referee therefore made the decision to stop the match, while the two teams were back to back (1-1). If the score had not changed, Troyes would have been officially demoted.
For the moment, paradoxically, this offers them a reprieve. The match was not “counted” by the LFP (Professional Football League), which will communicate its sanctions on Wednesday May 22. The game has very little chance of being replayed. The Trojans risk losing the match on the green carpet or having points withdrawn in the standings: in both cases, this would definitively confirm their descent.
While waiting for the sanctions against the Aube club to be formalized, Dunkirk and Annecy cannot fully enjoy their continuation. To avoid any fears, the two teams will try to obtain points, respectively against Angers and Troyes.
To be sure to see smiles at the end of the meetings, you will have to go to the Abbé-Deschamps side. Regardless of their result against Concarneau, Auxerre will be Ligue 2 champions for the second time in their history. Just one year after its relegation, Auxerre, and its fervent public, will return to Ligue 1 in August.
Christophe Pélissier’s men have had a brilliant season, having not relinquished their leadership position since February 10 – a victory (1-0) against Angers. Auxerre midfielder Gauthier Hein was also voted best player of the season at the UNFP Trophies.
Like all the last days of all championships, certain matches will be devoid of sporting issues. But these meetings will be far from being neglected by the players.
In fact, it is another opportunity for footballers to improve their statistics and showcase themselves before the crucial period of the summer transfer window, which opens on July 1. They can also be motivated by the idea of getting the last victory bonus of the season, far from negligible in certain clubs.
Beyond the economic aspect, other factors can come into play to motivate the protagonists. Although useless for the final ranking, the Bordeaux-Pau derby, for example, promises to be contested without restraint.