This 2022-2023 campaign will certainly not be remembered by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Between the multiple controversies that accompanied the Parisian season, and the poor performances in the Coupe de France, and especially in the Champions League (elimination in the round of 16 each time), the first year at the head of the club of Christophe Galtier did not will not have been easy. Still, it ends on a good note for PSG.
By clinching a draw on the lawn of Strasbourg on Saturday May 27 (1-1), the Parisians made sure to win an eleventh crown of champion of France with one day of the end of the championship, beating in passing the record of Saint-Etienne ( ten titles on the charts). Long abused against Strasbourg, the players of the capital finally found the fault in the second period thanks to Lionel Messi, perfectly served in the area by Kylian Mbappé (59th). The party could even have been even more beautiful in the event of a victory, but a former member of the house, Kevin Gameiro, decided to spoil it by equalizing at the end of the match (79th).
Officially champions, PSG have only one objective left at the end of the championship: to offer Kylian Mbappé a new title of top scorer in Ligue 1, which would be his fifth in a row. The former Monegasque, silent against Strasbourg, has 28 goals this season while Lyonnais Alexandre Lacazette returned to one unit by scoring in Les Gones’ success against Reims (3-0).
If the title of PSG seemed almost recorded at the dawn of this penultimate day, behind, all the places were not acquired. Starting with that of Lens. But by largely winning on their Bollaert lawn against Ajaccio (3-0), the Sang et Or made sure to end the season in second position, and therefore to compete in the Champions League for the first time since 2003.
Nantes and Auxerre in the fight to maintain
Even if they had lost, the Lensois would still have found the most prestigious of European competitions next season since their last competitor, Marseille, lost at home against Brest (2-1). OM will therefore be third, and will go through two preliminary rounds to try to compete in the Champions League.
As for the other European places, four teams are still in the race for two folding seats: Lille (66 points), Rennes (65), Monaco (65) and Lyon (62). By beating Nantes on the wire thanks to two penalties from Jonathan David (2-1), Lille remained the favorites to clinch the qualifying spot in the Europa League, but in the event of a misstep in Troyes on the last day, they could see Rennes or Monaco overtake them.
The two teams also faced each other on Saturday in a clash at the top of the table, which resulted in a victory for the Bretons (2-0). The Lyonnais can only hope for a place in the Europa Conference League, awarded to the fifth in the championship.
At the bottom of the table, this 37th day of Ligue 1 will not have given as many answers as in the heights of the classification, even if Strasbourg formalized its maintenance by hanging a draw against Paris. On the other hand, Auxerre (16th, 35 points) and Nantes (17th, 33 points) are still on waivers to try to avoid 17th place, synonymous with relegation to Ligue 2 alongside Troyes, Ajaccio and Angers, condemned to descent since several weeks. The Nantes will play their maintenance next weekend against Angers, while Auxerre will receive Lens.