Sunday 23 May 2021
PSG only runner-up in the end
Lille dethrones Parisian superstar troupe
In the past eight seasons, the title in France has gone to PSG seven times. But now the series champion is left behind again. Lille OSC triumphs. Volland and Kovac meanwhile manage to qualify for the Champions League with Monaco.
Paris St. Germain have missed their fourth championship title in a row in the French Ligue 1. The star ensemble from the capital won 2-0 (1-0) at Stade Brest – but the title went to Lille OSC for the fourth time in the club’s history, which was a meager point ahead of PSG with a 2-1 (2: 0) victory at SCO Angers successfully defended. PSG had previously won seven league titles in the past eight years. Lille had last secured the title in 2011.
The Brazilian superstar Neymar (19th) missed an early penalty in Brest. PSG took the lead shortly before the break with an own goal by Romain Faivre (37th), while World Champion Kylian Mbappe (71st) increased. 2014 world champion Julian Draxler, who recently extended his summer contract in Paris to 2024, and national player Thilo Kehrer sat on the bench for 90 minutes.
In Angers, Jonathan David (10th) gave Lille the lead. The Turkish international Burak Yilmaz (45th + 1) set the course for victory. In the entire season, Lille lost only three games. The fact that the team finished with just one point ahead of the recent series champions was due to eleven draws in the 38 games of the season. PSG, on the other hand, only drew four times, but had to give their opponents all three points eight times.
Kevin Volland, who was surprisingly called back to the German national team for the European Championship, secured the ticket for the Champions League qualification at the same time as AS Monaco. Coach Niko Kovac’s team achieved a 0-0 draw at RC Lens to claim the important third place with 78 points.
Fourth place only entitles them to start in the Europa League, this is occupied by the former series champion Olympique Lyon (76), who lost a 2-1 half-time lead and lost 3-2 to OGC Nice. Olympique Marseille is also represented in the “small European Cup”.
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