It’s time for celebrations, or regrets. Ligue 1 delivered, Sunday, May 23, at the end of the 38e and last day, the verdict of a season marked to the end by an intense suspense on all levels.
If Lille resisted the pressure to go and win, under the beard of PSG, a deserved fourth league title of France, there was also a fierce fight for the juicy places in the Champions League, which Lyon sees spinning for the benefit of Monaco .
Marseille and Rennes get their ticket for the less prestigious C3. And, at the bottom of the table, Nantes did not manage to go to the end of its fantastic comeback and will have to play a dangerous dam to avoid the descent in Ligue 2.
Monaco in the Champions League
Frustrated but qualified: Monaco has never managed to score, but his draw in Lens (0-0), sends him, despite everything, to the Champions League, four years after his last qualification in C1. The Monegasques will watch the Europa League final between Manchester United and Villarreal closely on Wednesday, since if the English win, ASM will play directly in the group stage of the Champions League.
With only one point ahead of their Lyon rival in the race for third place, the Monegasques took advantage of OL’s surprise home defeat against Nice (2-3), but could never believe in a hypothetical title, which would have required, even in the event of victory on their part, that Lille and Paris do not win.
Forced to win so as not to depend on the result of Lyon, Monaco immediately put the pressure. A long strong moment started with a free kick propelled into the net by the head of Benoît Badiashile, goal refused for offside (9e). Subsequently, the Monegasque offensive armada – which had scored in its last ten league games -, composed in particular of Ben Yedder, Volland, Golovin and Gelson Martins, never managed to deceive Lensois goalkeeper Jean-Louis Leca. . Without consequence, finally, since, at the same time, Lyon cracked completely.
“It’s an accomplished season despite the Cup final [de France] lost against Paris, appreciated the Monegasque captain, Wissam Ben Yedder. I think it’s deserved. We had strong moments, where we were impressive, we were strong, united, united. “
Lyon is content with the Europa League, Garcia announces his departure
Monegasque satisfaction contrasts with the frustration of the Lyonnais, beaten at home by Nice despite the very audible encouragement of several hundred supporters gathered outside the stadium, ignoring the curfew. The disillusionment is enormous for OL, who led 2-1 at half-time thanks to a double from Karl Toko-Ekambi, before conceding two fatal goals in the second half.
The coach, Rudi Garcia, had always bet, like the president, Jean-Michel Aulas, on a misstep by the Principality’s club before the end of the competition, but it was his players who totally failed, due to the weakness of their defense. After conceding at least one goal in each of her last seven games, she has this time cracked three times. For the second year in a row, the Lyonnais will therefore watch the Champions League on television.
At the end of the contract, Rudi Garcia confirmed, after the defeat, his departure from Lyon, which therefore finished fourth and will play in the Europa League, without him, next season.
“I wanted to leave the club by leaving it in the Champions League. And this is not the case ”, said at a press conference the technician who arrived at OL in October 2019. “I see my president on Monday, but it’s been a long time since I decided I wasn’t going to continue. If the president has nothing to propose to me, we leave it there, and if he proposes something to me, I am not a candidate for my own succession ”Garcia added.
OL already knew that they could no longer count on their Dutch striker, Memphis Depay, who announced his departure on Friday, ending his Rhone tenure with 177 official matches, 76 goals scored and 54 assists, including two on Sunday evening. It looks like a new start for the Lyon club.
Marseille and Rennes in the European Cup
Marseilles retained his fifth place, and the ticket for the Europa League that goes with it, thanks to the draw (1-1) brought back from Metz after fourteen minutes of added time! OM wanted “Save the furniture”, in the words of its captain, Steve Mandanda, at the end of an extremely chaotic season.
Only an improbable scenario could have deprived OM of this European place. It did not take place, but the end of this match between Metz and Marseille will still not be lacking in salt, with two penalties awarded by the VAR – one for each team – and an equalizer obtained by Milik in the 14th.e minute of additional time, shortly after the opening of the scoring, signed Boulaya (90 + 7).
At the end of the day, OM thus finished the season fifth and will play the hens of the Europa League next season. That was not the initial objective, and the Olympian squad will probably have nothing to do next season with that seen on Sunday at Saint-Symphorien.
“Honestly, since my arrival and from what I have seen, the objective of European qualification seemed distant, analyzed the Argentine coach of OM, Jorge Sampaoli. We are therefore happy to be qualified and we are full of enthusiasm for next season. “
The last European ticket in play, for the preliminary rounds of the mysterious Europa League Conference, has changed hands. Seventh at kick-off, Reindeer indeed cut the line in sixth position thanks to his 2-0 success against Nîmes – relegated and resigned – proof of a nice rebound from the Bretons since the replacement on the bench of Julien Stephan by Bruno Genesio. This result, coupled with the draw between Lens and Monaco, allows them to pass the Lensois on the wire, and to invite themselves again in the European court after a stint this year in the Champions League.
“Most of the work has been done on the mental level, said Bruno Genesio. The club is installed at the top of the table, in the big French clubs. When you have sporting consistency, it’s because good things are in place. “
RC Lens, who remained on three defeats before their insufficient draw against Monaco, ended up out of breath. He will miss the European award, but the promoted season has been good and encouraging.
Nantes in a barrage against Toulouse
The spectacular rebound in recent weeks was not enough: beaten by Montpellier (2-1), Nantes will have to fight next week against Toulouse to try to stay in Ligue 1, and not accompany Dijon and Nîmes, already condemned to relegation.
“We have to put our heads right side up, because two big games await us. Dams are another story ”, projected at the end of the meeting the Nantes coach, Antoine Kombouaré
After a season in the form of the Stations of the Cross, with four successive coaches and an increasingly isolated president, the Nantes people had managed to recover, by aligning four victories in a row in their last matches, often even with the manner. But they stumbled on a team from Montpellier decided to sell its skin dearly. Like a snub of fate: in 2008 and then in 2013, Montpellier coach Michel Der Zakararian, who had been trained in Nantes and made his debut there, had twice raised the Canaries of L2, before leaving, cold with President Waldemar Kita.
In danger for months, Lorient and Strasbourg have, for their part, ensured the maintenance, by sharing the points (1-1), while Brest, in free fall in recent weeks and beaten by Paris (0-2), takes advantage of the disappointment of Nantes. Bordeaux, also in danger after a difficult season, ends on a positive note with his victory in Reims (2-1).