Maybe it was not so convincing as it looks, but it was totally deserved – Paris Saint Germain won their 10th Ligue 1 title on Saturday, after a 1-1 draw in Paris, 4 rounds before the end. And while title wins are taken for granted since the Qatar owners bought the club (8 titles since 2011, 2 before that), other clubs in the Ligue 1 are struggling financially to keep the pace with state owned club from the French capital. And yet, PSG allowed themselves to be surprised twice in recent times, and allowed Monaco and Lille to win the title under their noses, unlike for example Bayern Munich, who won its 10th consecutive title in Bundesliga without being owned by the rich Arabs.🏆 @PSG_English 🏆📈📉 Here’s how the league table looks after last weekend’s action! — How did your team do? 👇 pic.twitter.com/vj1bo0DeGG— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) April 25, 2022 This season, the title has been won 4 weeks ahead of time, but it doesn’t mean that the order below PSG is also determined. On the contrary, the battle is in full swing, and no less than 5 teams are looking for that spot number 3, which leads into the Champions League qualifications. The second place is firmly in the grasp of Marseille, but theoretically, Rennes, Monaco and Nice could also finish as second, and qualify directly to the most prestigious European competition.(2.30) FEYENOORD (3.40) MARSEILLE (3.10)Marseille (2nd, 65 pts)Leader of this ‘group’ is traditionally among the top teams in the league (after all, they are the most popular club in France with biggest support) and currently holds the number 2 spot, which is heavily attacked by Rennes. And, looking at the schedule, they have the worst possible schedule until the end. First of all, they are the only French club left in Europe, and they will play at least 2 more games, as they are in the Conference League semi-final with Feyenoord. So, they will have 6, and potentially 7 games until the end of the season, which gives Rennes a chance to overturn them. Marseille will host Lyon, then travel to Lorient, then to Rennes (a direct battle for the second spot) and then host Strasbourg, who is also looking for European competition, with Conference League games in between. Tough draw indeed.Ligue 1 title means nothing when you are after the Champions League: Pochettino is leaving PSGRennes (3rd, 59 pts)After investing heavily in youth and quality players, the team from Bretagne got its reward by almost securing the Champions League football. The only reason they are not second is their youth and inexperience, which was the reason why they lost games which should have been won with ease. Monaco is just after them, and will try to leapfrog Rennes until the very end. And Les Rennais are hosting relegation strugglers Saint Etienne next week, followed by a trip to Nantes, before they host Marseille in the battle for the second place after which they will travel to Lille in the last round.Lille fans not happy with this season’s mid-table position:“You wrote history & then shame. Get lost.” pic.twitter.com/abVLd8Roqp— Get French Football News (@GFFN) April 24, 2022 Monaco (4th, 59 pts)A team which defeats PSG, Rennes and Nice two months before the end of the season must be in contention for the Champions league and Monaco is indeed in the race. Rennes is currently ahead of them only due to superior goal difference, but the Monegasques have the easiest schedule of all teams in the hunt. Monaco will host Angers, then travel to Lille, followed by home game against Brest and a trip to Lens in the last game of the season.Nice (5th, 57 pts)Ambicous Nice owner brought in a proven coach Christophe Galtier to bring him some silverware and former champion with Lille is on a good course, as his team is in finals of the French Cup, but that means they will play one more game until the end of the season, as the finals with Nantes is scheduled for May 7th. Les Aiglons are playing away in Bordeaux before they host Galtier’s former club Saint – Etienne. After that, they are against hosts to another Galtier’s club – Lille and they finish the season in Reims, with a final with Nantes in between Ligue 1 games.Lacazette: ‘I could come back to Lyon, but…’Strasbourg (6th, 56 pts)Looking at the tradition and strength of the squads, Lyon should have been at this position, but the former French champions are not playing as they should for a couple of season now, and Strasbourg are certainly a surprise of the league. However, they are in this position deservedly, but they seem to have lost pace at the very end of the season, and could end up losing everything. They won against Rennes, but lost to Lille and with numerous draws this season, they are one point away from European football. Their remaining schedule is PSG at home, Brest away, Clermont at home and tricky game in Marseille in the last round.Senegal’s Gueye: ’Sampaoli is the worst coach I ever had’Lens (7th, 54 pts), Lyon (8th, 52 pts) and Lille (9th, 51 pts)Among this group, Lens is the ‘dark horse’ to win a place in any European competition next season, along with Lyon and Lille, but all of them would need a perfect ending of the season, while the teams in front of them should collapse in the last 4 rounds which is possible off course, but only mathematically. Surely last year’s champions Lille and French giants Lyon are surprisingly in this difficult position, but their performances this season were not as good as expected. Of all these clubs, Lens has the ‘easiest’ schedule, with gamest against Nantes, Reims, Troyes and Monaco.
