Ligue 1, Week 38: Montpellier Beat PSG To The Title

Montpellier were expected to be a mid-table side coming into the Ligue 1 season, but they’ve managed to outlast Paris Saint-Germain and Lille to win the Ligue 1 title. Even without star player Younes Belhanda, out due to suspension, they were able to hold off PSG and win the title by three points.

They didn’t do it without incident, as there was plenty of drama on the final day of the Ligue 1 season. PSG went down early to Lorient, a team who were fighting a relegation battle. They came from behind and found goals through Javier Pastore and Thiago Motta, eventually winning 2-1 before Montpellier’s game concluded.

The last day of the Ligue 1 season brings with it (as always) plenty of drama. Here’s a quick rundown of all of the different scenarios:

Title Race: It’s all Montpellier’s to lose; thanks to some last second heroics from Karim Ait Fana and Olivier Giroud, MHSC need only a draw against Auxerre, the only team to be relegated before the last weekend of the season. Should Montpellier somehow manage to lose, PSG would need a victory against Lorient to claim the title; with the two top sides even on goal difference, any margin of victory would be enough.

Champions League: Done and dusted. Barring one of the top three being docked points for some unforeseen reason, Montpellier, PSG and Lille will be France’s Champions League representatives next season.

Europa League: Thanks to Marseille’s Coupe de la Ligue win, only two Europa League places can be claimed via finishing order. With Coupe de France winners Lyon having a comfortable grip on 4th place, four teams are still mathematically in the running; if there is a winner between 5th-placed Bordeaux and 6th-placed St. Etienne, that team will most likely end up with the spot. Rennes could sneak in in the event of a draw between the two sides ahead of them, and should they manage to defeat Dijon by a large enough margin they could claim the place on goal difference even if St. Etienne defeats Bordeaux. A lot of things would have to go right for Toulouse to leapfrog the other three sides, but if everyone else draws and they manage to beat Ajaccio they’ll take 5th.

Relegation Battle:

via gifsoup.com