Ligue 1 Superthread 2020/21

adaminho

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

PSG beaten 2-1 at home by relegation-threatened Nantes! Shocking result that will have an effect at both ends of the table. It's the 7th loss in the league for Paris, and they had been leading 1-0 at half-time too.

Earlier, Monaco and Lille played out a 0-0 draw. With Lyon held by Reims, this was a great chance for Paris to gain ground on their rivals but instead they have lost some. Table currently looks as follows:



Next two games for PSG are going to be huge in the title race: they're away to Lyon, followed by a home game with Lille.

https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1371222478094209025

Mr.Nice Guy

Damn, that happened to him in Manchester as well. Sounds like this one was a particularly traumatic incident.

- bo -

WHAT. A. WIN.

What makes it more sweet is the referee did his best to do us over. Fully deserved win though. Lorient next is another massive one.

Mr.Nice Guy

Weekend results:

St. Etienne 0-4 Monaco
Metz 1-3 Rennes
Nice 3-0 Marseille
Strasbourg 1-2 Lens
Nantes 1-1 Lorient
Brest 0-0 Angers
Montpellier 3-1 Bordeaux
Dijon 0-1 Reims
Lille 1-2 Nimes
Lyon 2-4 PSG

PSG put their defeat to Nantes behind them with a big win over Lyon. They were leading 4-0 at one stage; Mbappe got a brace. Big shock of the day though was the disastrous result for Lille’s title hopes as they lost 2-1 at home to a Nimes side that were 19th at the start of the day. PSG now back on top of Lille via goal difference with the two sides set to meet in Paris after the international break on Saturday, April 3rd.

Strong win for Monaco. I saw clips from Tchouameni’s performance in midfield and he looks a very special prospect. Not sure Monaco can hold on to him for long. He bossed the game with Lille recently too. Just 4 points now separating 1st and 4th place.

The relegation scrap is looking tasty all of a sudden too. Dijon are long gone but it’s open as to who joins them. Nimes' shock win puts them in the mix to get out too. Nantes nearly got a big win over Lorient but an 87th minute equaliser from Lauriente could be very significant. What a mad goal:

https://twitter.com/MessiMX10i/status/1373664183590486020

Sampaoli meanwhile tasted his first defeat with Marseille, with Nice quietly on a good bit of form. Gouiri got himself another goal and assist and continues his great season. 12 goals and 6 assists for him now. Solid win for Genesio’s Rennes as well who are still in with a shout of a Europa League spot.

PSG vs Lille the obvious big game after the break, but Lyon travelling to Europe-chasing Lens looks tricky. Lorient vs Brest and Nimes vs St. Etienne will be important to the relegation scrap. It's set up quite well going into the final 8 games.

Plasandrunt

Just backed Monaco to win Ligue 1 at 10/1, look to have all the momentum and their run in looks more than decent.

The Golden Miller

Lille just keeping their noses in front. Would be sad to see PSG beating them on the run in after the effort Lille players put in all year. Wouldn't mind seeing Monaco win it either

Mr.Nice Guy

Outstanding game of football this evening. One of the best games I've watched this season. Lille visited Lyon knowing they needed to win to go back ahead of PSG. They found themselves 2-0 down but Yilmaz pulled a goal back with a superb free-kick just before half-time. A David goal and another one by Yilmaz turned it around and they win 3-2 to go back top.

That's Lyon's title hopes surely over and now they have to try and make sure they get a Champions League place as only the top three qualify in France.

Top of the table now:

Lille - 73 pts
PSG - 72 pts
Monaco - 71 pts
Lyon - 67 pts

Lille's remaining 4 fixtures are Nice (H), Lens (A), St. Etienne (H) and Angers (A).

I keep expecting them to slip up but it hasn't happened yet.

Mr.Nice Guy

PSG got through what looked like one of their trickiest games on paper in their run-in, beating Lens 2-1. Neymar and Marquinhos with the goals.

Paris now 2 points clear. Lille host Nice later and need to win to go back top. Game is live on BT Sport 3 at 8pm.

Mr.Nice Guy

1-0 Lille. Yilmaz does it again. What a season he's having.

Half-time and Lille with the lead. I thought Nice's Lotomba was fortunate to stay on the pitch for a bad challenge. He only got a booking. Surprised the ref wasn't asked to take another look at it.

Welp, Lotomba gets his second yellow early in the second half.

2-0 Lille. Brilliant volley from the RB Zeki Celik.

Full-time. Job done by Lille as they return to the top of the table. It could have been even more as Yilmaz hit the post in the second half. Nice never really offered anything and they look like they're already on their holidays.

Massive game tomorrow night as Monaco host Lyon. Monaco need to win to keep alive their title hopes, while Lyon need to win to keep alive their Champions League hopes.

Next round of fixtures fascinating too. Lille with a very tough Derby du Nord game on Friday evening away at Lens, while PSG travel to Europa League-chasing Rennes. Very exciting finish to the season.

Mr.Nice Guy

Another fantastic Sunday evening game involving Lyon that ends 3-2, this time with Rudi Garcia's men on the winning side, leaving Monaco's outside hopes of the title looking over.

Volland gave Monaco the lead, but Depay pulled one back. Caqueret got sent off, leaving Lyon down to ten men and it looked like it was going Monaco's way, but the ten men took the lead through a Marcelo header. Lopes then goes and gives away a pen, punching Pellegri as he went to punch the ball; Ben Yedder scores with a Panenka for 2-2. 17-year-old sub Rayan Cherki then puts the 10 men in front once again in the 89th minute and they go on to win the game. There was a big scuffle at the final whistle and BT went off the air while it was going on, which was annoying.

Great entertainment all round. Top four now looks like so:

Lille - 76 pts
PSG - 75 pts
Monaco - 71 pts
Lyon - 70 pts

Only the top 3 get into the Champions League and Monaco look to me to have a trickier run than Lyon. They have to face Rennes and Lens in their final 2 games, who are both hunting a Europa League position. It's going to be sickening for whichever team misses out.

The relegation scrap is looking exciting too with Nantes, Lorient and Bordeaux all winning today. This season has been terrific.

Mr.Nice Guy

Massive night in the title race as Lille travel to rivals Lens in the derby. This looks like being the trickiest game for Galtier's side on paper in their run-in. Lens are sitting in 5th and have their own dream of Europa League qualification on the line. Game is live from 8 on BT Sport 2.

1-0 Lille. Yilmaz gives the visitors the early lead from the spot, with the help of the post, after a clumsy foul on Bamba.

Red card. Lens down to ten as Michelin gets a second booking. Second one looked a bit harsh to me. Just like last week, Lille find themselves against ten men.

2-0! Yilmaz with an absolute screamer from outside the box. Lille look like they're on their way to a huge win.

https://twitter.com/Golspor1/status/1390754181062004742

namloc1980

2-0 to Lille.

Mr.Nice Guy

David makes it 3-0 after awful goalkeeping from Leca. That should be the game.

Full-time and it ends 3-0 to Lille. Thought that would be a challenge for Lille but they made it look easy. They go 4 points clear of PSG who travel to Rennes on Sunday. If Paris lose to Rennes, then Galtier could win the title next weekend against his old club St. Etienne.

Mr.Nice Guy

Troyes, who are owned by City Football Group, have been promoted to Ligue 1 for the first time since 17-18. Their coach Laurent Battles is reportedly wanted by Montpellier for next season.

Lyon have overtaken Monaco for the 3rd and final Champions League spot after beating Lorient 4-1. Monaco can take it back, provided they win at Reims tomorrow. Lorient's loss made it a good day for Nantes, who beat fellow strugglers Bordeaux 3-0. It's looking very congested in the bottom half of the table. If Nimes don't win at Metz tomorrow, they're pretty much gone.

Mr.Nice Guy

Monaco go back a point ahead of Lyon for the final CL place in 3rd after winning 1-0 at Reims.

St. Etienne and Angers are safe after winning today. Nimes pulled off a great 3-0 win at Metz to keep their survival hopes alive. Extremely tight from 13th on down with 2 games to go...

13. Reims - 42
14. Brest - 40
15. Bordeaux - 39
16. Strasbourg - 38
17. Lorient - 38
18. Nantes - 37
19. Nimes - 35
20. Dijon - 18 (R)

Rennes vs PSG is the final game of the round, live on BT Sport 2 from 8pm. If Rennes win, they jump ahead of Marseille and Lens into 5th and the Europa League place. It's must-win for Paris to keep the pressure on Lille at the top. Rennes are starting Lesley Ugochukwu, who is just 17 and making his first start.

1-0 PSG just on the stroke of half-time after the ref awards a spot kick for a foul on Kurzawa. I thought that was a very harsh decision. This ref has given Rennes very little. PSG not at their best, although they've had a few shots on target. Rennes have had a few opportunities as well.

1-1. Fabulous headed equaliser from Guirassy, and it's deserved. Poch made a pretty defensive switch before it as well, taking off Di Maria.

Red card for Kimpembe in the 87th minute. Lack of discipline creeping in again for Paris.

Full-time and it ends 1-1. PSG lose more ground in the title race and Lille now know they can win the title with 4 points from their last 2 games. Paris were very disappointing tonight and are pretty fortunate to get anything from the game. Rennes had the better chances in the 2nd half and Navas had to keep them in it. Don't think that PSG penalty should have stood either. Rennes did well.

- bo -

I may not just need to request for next season't thread title to include Ligue 2 yet...

Played brilliantly on Saturday. 7 goals in the last 2 games, the only downside being teams around are still picking up points. Bordeaux though were as bad a side as I've seen turn up to play us in a long time. Nothing about them at all.

Mr.Nice Guy

PSG are into the French Cup final but made very hard work of it, beating Montpellier 6-5 on pens after the game ended 2-2. Mbappe with a brace, Laborde and Delort with the Montpellier goals. Junior Sambia with the penalty miss via an awful shot over the bar. Big result for Poch as if they were knocked out, the pressure would have mounted on him. They will meet the winner of tomorrow's semi-final, Monaco or the 4th tier outfit Rumilly Vallieres.

Dillonb3

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

PSG are into the French Cup final but made very hard work of it, beating Montpellier 6-5 on pens after the game ended 2-2. Mbappe with a brace, Laborde and Delort with the Montpellier goals. Junior Sambia with the penalty miss via an awful shot over the bar. Big result for Poch as if they were knocked out, the pressure would have mounted on him. They will meet the winner of tomorrow's semi-final, Monaco or the 4th tier outfit Rumilly Vallieres.

Interestingly Rumilly Vallieres play in the same division as Monaco's reserve team

Mr.Nice Guy

Monaco defeat Rumilly Vallieres 5-1 to advance to the French Cup final next Wednesday where they'll face PSG. The 4th tier side took the lead but couldn't hold out for long.

Kovac managed to beat Bayern a few years ago in the Pokal final with Eintracht. Wonder if he can do similar and beat the favourites once more. Monaco have beaten Paris home and away already this season.

Mr.Nice Guy

All 10 games kicking off at 8pm this evening. It's possible that Lille could be crowned champions tonight, but it requires PSG dropping points at home to Reims, which is very unlikely.

Lille's destiny is in their hands as they host St. Etienne. They need 4 points from their last 2 games. St. Etienne have been in decent form of late and have an English-born keeper Etienne Green, who's been playing well. The game is live on BT Sport 3.

Nimes vs Lyon is another interesting one. Nimes could be relegated depending on other results, while Lyon could see their Champions League dreams end tonight if they lose and Monaco beat Rennes.

Mr.Nice Guy

Half-time scores:

Nimes 1-3 Lyon
Nice 0-1 Strasbourg
Marseille 1-0 Angers
Lorient 1-0 Metz
PSG 2-0 Reims
Lille 0-0 St. Etienne
Dijon 0-2 Nantes
Montpellier 0-0 Brest
Bordeaux 1-0 Lens
Monaco 2-0 Rennes

Lille's lead at the top is cut to a point as it stands. Reims are down to ten men with Neymar and Mbappe scoring. Lille have been pretty disappointing. They look very nervous.

Marseille are going to secure Europa League football with Lens and Rennes losing.

Nimes, despite going a goal up, look like they have now lost it, and if so they'll be relegated tonight.

Forty points is normally enough for survival but atm Nantes are sitting in the relegation play-off spot with that exact amount.

Did you smash it

Very stylish glasses from the Lille manager. Less style on the pitch.

Mr.Nice Guy

Weekend results:

Nimes 2-5 Lyon
Nice 0-2 Strasbourg
Marseille 3-2 Angers
Lorient 2-1 Metz
PSG 4-0 Reims
Lille 0-0 St. Etienne
Dijon 0-4 Nantes
Montpellier 0-0 Brest
Bordeaux 3-0 Lens
Monaco 2-1 Rennes

Lille go into the final game of the season away at Angers, knowing they need to win to be sure of the title. Angers are safe in 12th, but their coach Stephane Moulin - longest serving coach in the top 5 leagues - is leaving, so you'd imagine they'll want to give him a good send-off. Lille were not at their best tonight but Yazici did force Green into a superb stop near the end. PSG meanwhile will travel to Brest, who are still in danger of falling into the relegation play-off spot.

Monaco mathematically are not out of the title picture but their main focus will be fending off Lyon for the final CL place in 3rd. They lead Lyon by a point but Monaco have the harder fixture, away at 6th-place Lens; Lyon are home to 9th-place Nice, who have nothing to play for.

Marseille have secured Europa League football at the group stage barring a disaster next week. Lens and Rennes are still in contention for the final Europa League spot via the Conference League.

Nimes are relegated after their thrashing tonight. Anyone from 13th on down could wind up in the play-off spot:

13. Reims - 42
14. Bordeaux - 42
15. Strasbourg - 41
16. Brest - 41
17. Lorient - 41
18. Nantes - 40

So much at stake going into the final round of fixtures. Going to be a very dramatic climax to a brilliant season. All games kick off next week at 8pm.

Mr.Nice Guy

This terrific Ligue 1 season draws to a close tonight as we find out who wins the title, who is heading into the Champions League, who makes the Europa League, plus who will finish 18th and thus face Toulouse in the relegation/promotion play-off.

BT Sport 1 are showing Angers versus Lille (kick-off 8pm), with Lille looking to win to secure the title for the first time in 10 years. Brest vs PSG is on BT Sport 2.

I like Poch, but I hope Galtier gets the title as it would be a great underdog story. Most of this team is going to be broken up in the coming weeks and months due to the club's financial woes, and Galtier is also expected to leave. It would be a nice way to end things, but football doesn't always provide the storybook ending. Looking forward to how it unfolds.

greendom

No multiplex offering anywhere tonight? Feels like there is something riding on every game

Mr.Nice Guy

David puts Lille in front! Lovely move. Renato Sanches with a nice ball.

Mr.Nice Guy

Neymar has put a pen wide against Brest. Poor effort.

Update: Di Maria has scored from a corner with the help of a deflection to give PSG the lead at Brest. Lille winning the title by a point as it stands.

~Rebel~

Just looking through the table there, and the goal differences are nuts! Mad that in a 20 team league, 13 of them have a negative GD. And only 5 teams have a GD better than +10. I guess the top 4 (all with GD's over 30) have been just dishing out spankings all year?

Mr.Nice Guy

David wins Lille a pen. Huge moment.

Yilmaz scores! Lille with a two goal lead and heading for the title.

~Rebel~ wrote:

Just looking through the table there, and the goal differences are nuts! Mad that in a 20 team league, 13 of them have a negative GD. And only 5 teams have a GD better than +10. I guess the top 4 (all with GD's over 30) have been just dishing out spankings all year?

Yeah the top 4 sides have been very strong this season. It will be a sickener for whichever one out of Monaco and Lyon misses out on the CL.

namloc1980

2-0 to Lille!

Mr.Nice Guy

As it stands right now Lille are winning the title, Lyon are going to leapfrog Monaco for the final CL spot, Rennes are going to get into the Europa conference, with Lorient dropping into the relegation/promotion play-off to face Toulouse. A lot of this could change dramatically at full-time.

Lille have been pretty comfortable. Angers aren't offering much in attack, which hopefully continues to be the case.

Mr.Nice Guy

Arsenal loanee William Saliba has scored for Nice who are leading Lyon 3-2. Monaco now heading into the CL.

Update: Mbappe has scored for PSG who lead 2-0 at Brest but they still need Angers to score twice. Brest now heading into the relegation play-off.

Nantes have now slipped into the play-off as they're losing 2-1 at home to Montpellier.

Mr.Nice Guy

There's only minutes remaining. It's going to be Lille's year. What a story. I think the Monaco side that beat PSG in 16/17 was a better side, but Lille getting the better of a PSG side that boasts Neymar and Mbappe is a bigger achievement imo. I believe this is the first time Mbappe will miss out on a title since he became a first team regular.

Mr.Nice Guy

Wait. Fulgini has scored for Angers.

No time for a scare surely...

Mr.Nice Guy

Lille are champions!

https://twitter.com/losclive/status/1396568821364887552

namloc1980

My heart there at the end! All over now thankfully.

Agent Coulson

That has to be seen a major failure for Poch not winning the league and getting knocked out of the Champions League much of a fight.

ShamoBuc

Delighted for Lille !!

~Rebel~

Agent Coulson wrote: »

That has to be seen a major failure for Poch not winning the league and getting knocked out of the Champions League much of a fight.

Closed the gap from when he took over at least, and reaching the CL semi on the tougher side of the draw isn't too bad. Not a big success, but wouldn't call it a failure just yet. I'm interested to see what he does with the squad over the window, they could do with following the City route and having a higher quality across the board instead of a few absolutely world class standouts.

Delighted for Lille though, love seeing any of the monopoly leagues getting an upset winner!

Mr.Nice Guy

So many great stories in this win. Christophe Galtier taking over a Lille side that were fighting relegation, getting them into the Champions League, and now taking them to the title.

Burak Yilmaz, 35 going on 36, goes to a top 5 league for the first time and provides some massive moments.

Jonathan David, signed to replace Victor Osimhen who went to Napoli, written off as a flop at the start of the season, scores the winner in the 1-0 win at Paris and scores tonight and wins a peno.

Sven Botman, brought in to replace Gabriel after he went to Arsenal, ends up proving himself to be even better at the back. His partner Jose Fonte at 37 adding a title win to his Euro 2016 medal.

I think the two biggest moments were the 1-0 win at PSG, and then that incredible 3-2 victory at Lyon when they had been 2-0 down. The squad and coach will likely be broken up in the coming weeks but this lot were a hell of a team.

Mr.Nice Guy

Final round of results:

St. Etienne 0-1 Dijon
Lyon 2-3 Nice
Reims 1-2 Bordeaux
Angers 1-2 Lille
Lens 0-0 Monaco
Rennes 2-0 Nimes
Brest 0-2 PSG
Strasbourg 1-1 Lorient
Nantes 1-2 Montpellier
Metz 1-1 Marseille

Lille crowned champions.

Monaco make the Champions League after Lyon failed to beat Nice. Has to be considered a massive disappointment for Lyon. Monaco will reach the group stage if United beat Villarreal in the Europa League final.

Rennes squeeze into the Europa Conference League. Tough on promoted side Lens who had a fantastic season but miss out by just a point.

Nantes finish on 40 points but it's not enough to see them avoid 18th and the play-off spot. They face Toulouse, with the first leg on Thursday.

Really enjoyed that season. Delighted for Lille.

adaminho

Lille received the trophy today.

https://twitter.com/FotMob/status/1396862832751390720

adaminho

The Lille exodus begins.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1397234900227526658

https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1397104677246881799

Mr.Nice Guy

Former Ajax, Dortmund and Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz named Lyon's new manager. Two year deal.

https://twitter.com/OL/status/1398676249359392769

Interested to see how he fares. It's a tough time to join with many departures expected, most notably Depay. Outgoing coach Rudi Garcia had a lot of complaints about Juninho's influence, claiming he tried to influence team selections.

Mr.Nice Guy

Nantes survive in Ligue 1 after winning the relegation/promotion play-off on away goals. (Might be one of the last times a tie is decided on that rule) Thought Toulouse had a decent handball shout near the end but VAR didn't agree. Job done by Kombouare. If Nantes can keep hold of their key attacking players, and sort out the defence with some signings, I think they can avoid a relegation scrap next season.

Forgot to add my Ligue 1 team of the season, so these would be my picks:

(G) Maignan (Lille)

(RB) Clauss (Lens)
(CB) Marquinhos (PSG)
(CB) Botman (Lille)
(LB) Reinildo (Lille)

(CM) Tchouameni (Monaco)
(CM) Soumare (Lille)
(AM) Paqueta (Lyon)

(ST) Depay (Lyon)
(ST) Yilmaz (Lille)
(ST) Mbappe (PSG)


Ben Yedder and Volland unlucky not to make it as they had great seasons. Once again Montpellier's Delort and Laborde proved to be one of the best attacking partnerships. I wouldn't argue against Navas as the goalkeeper pick either. He was quality again. Fonte and Kimpembe would be very valid picks for the CB spots too. I was close to picking Zeki Celik for the RB spot as he did terrific in the title run-in for Lille. Think this may the first time I've not picked Neymar in one of these but I don't think he made a strong case this campaign.

- bo -

Stayed up by an absolute gee hair. Didn't deserve to, the performance was gutless and Toulouse deserved it. Until ownership changes it will be repeated mid-table to relegation positions despite constantly having a top 10 budget.

Sadly, many seem to be of the opinion that if relegation forced a change of owners then it would have been worth it.

Mr.Nice Guy

Angers, who finished 13th, are seemingly going to be relegated.

https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1410981578344390658

If this decision stands, I wonder would Toulouse, who lost the promotion play-off to Nantes, replace them, or would 19th place Nimes get to survive...

Update: not just Angers...

https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1410988332805414918