Soccer

Why you should watch Ligue 1, potentially Europe’s most interesting league

There are no clear favorites in France, the table is tight and players like Lacazette and Gignac seem to enjoy scoring at will. What’s not to love?

by Jack Grimse

Oct 31, 2014, 9:52 AM UTC

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno

It may lack the goals of the free-scoring Bundesliga, the star power of La Liga, the pace of the Premier League, and the tactics of Serie A, but France’s Ligue 1 looks to have the most exciting title race of any of Europe’s top five major leagues.

The title picture is starting to shape up with three main contenders: Olympique Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyon. Last season’s runners-up, Monaco, look fairly average in eighth, having spent none of the money earned by flipping James Rodriguez to Real Madrid for a one year return on investment of 78 percent, and flogging Falcao and his enormous wages off to Manchester United.

Even aside from the recent cash injections in Paris and Monaco, Ligue 1 has had an interesting past few years. Lille and Montpellier shocked the country by winning the 2010-11 and 11-12 titles respectively before the Parisians got it together and won the title the past two years. In fact, after securing last year’s title, PSG became the first team to repeat since Lyon’s incredible run as champs from 2001-2007. Marseille won in 09-10, and Bordeaux 08-09, which means there seven different clubs won the title in seven years.

To those unfamiliar with the French league, PSG looks dominant, with their blind spending having paid off in the form of their two titles. But, to the puzzlement of many, the club still manages to struggle in the league, and moves like spending €62m for David Luiz still seem questionable.

But despite their struggles, PSG are second, four points off the top. Nagging injuries mean that Zlatan Ibrahimovic hasn’t been in the best of form, with just five goals thus far, a bit off the pace for this season’s golden boot. Edinson Cavani and Lucas have picked up the slack, scoring four and five goals respectively.

André-Pierre Gignac and Alexandre Lacazette are the top firing strikers in the division, and they were on display in last Sunday’s Choc des Olympiques. Going into the match, Gignac had ten goals in as many matches, and Lacazette eight through ten.

The Clash of the Olympics is a particularly even rivalry, in which Marseille have won 28 times, Lyon 27, and there have been 33 draws. But going into the last meeting, Marseille looked the favorites, sitting top on a string of eight consecutive wins. But the hosts, too, were in strong form, unbeaten in their last six and scoring almost at will.

The match ended up a particularly tight one, with action at both ends. The intriguing tactics of both coaches were on display, with Marcelo Bielsa putting his side out in a 3-5-1-1 and Hubert Fournier electing to use a narrow midfield diamond. In the end, Yoann Gourcuff’s 65th minute goal was decisive. After a classy drag back to switch feet he smashed it over goalkeeper Steve Mandanda who had been left on the floor by the Lyon midfielder’s fake shot. Lacazette provided the assist. Marseille attacked relentlessly, but the home side were able to hold on and grab a crucial three points.

Marseille’s lead has been cut to four, but the next couple weeks could prove crucial. Both they and PSG play teams toward the bottom of the table, while Lyon visits Nice, who, with a win, could end up tied with them for first. But then it’s bottom-side Guingamp for Lyon, while Marseille and PSG clash.

It’s most likely that those three will be the ones fighting it out for the Ligue 1 title, and although Paris’ money probably gives them the advantage, right now the race is one of the most exciting in Europe. So, too, is the rest of the table: Guingamp may have just nine points, but the 16-point gap between them and Marseille is the smallest in the top five European leagues.

And don’t start thinking tight, 1-0 matches, like Lyon’s win over Marseille last week, are the norm. Prior to that Lyon had bagged 5-1 and 4-0 victories, Marseille had beat Reims 5-0, and PSG beat Bordeaux 3-0 last time out. Oh, and sometimes you get Carlos Eduardo bagging five for Nice against Guingamp in a 7-2 win.