Ligue 1 Review Gameweek 38 – Final Day

 

The Ligue 1 season came to a close on Saturday and there were a number of twists and turns throughout the evening, particularly regarding the relegation battle.

Angers 2-3 Toulouse

After coming back from a goal down, Toulouse secured their Ligue 1 safety by beating Angers at the Stade Jean Bouin. The visitors knew before the game a win would guarantee a place in the top flight next season, but they had to survive a few scares in the match. Billy Ketkeophomphone shocked Toulouse early on, scoring the opening goal for Angers after capitalising on Giles Sunu’s error. An equaliser looked to be on the cards when Cheikh N’Doye handled in the area to give Toulouse a penalty, but Martin Braithwaite chose the worst time to try a Panenka penalty and chipped the ball over the crossbar.

An in-form Wissam Ben Yedder stepped up to the plate once again in the second half; he was able to convert from inside the area after some good work by Oscar Trejo. It didn’t take long for the hosts to retake the lead however as Said Benrahma came off the bench to score a screamer from range. Two late goals from Toulouse turned the game on its head and spread disappointing news to Reims and Gazélec. Braithwaite made up for his earlier mistake by scoring the leveler before Yann Bodiger sparked delirium in the away end by getting the winner with a fine free-kick. The three points kept Toulouse in 17^th, while Angers’ first season back in the top flight ended with a respectable 9^th place finish.

Caen 1-0 Bordeaux

Caen’s victory ensured they climbed up to 7^th to cap a great season, whereas Bordeaux fell into the bottom half of the table and finished the campaign in 11^th. The hosts were only two places shy of their highest league finish; a record set in 1992.

Andy Delort was the hero in this game as he has been in many of Caen’s matches. The 24-year-old was awarded a penalty after drawing a foul from Pablo and he stepped up to fire the ball into the top-left corner to score his 12^th of the season.

Guingamp 2-3 Nice

Inspired by two goals from Alassane Plea, Nice were able to confirm their place in next season’s Europa League with a 3-2 victory at the Stade du Roudourou. Only two minutes had passed when Les Aiglons scored the opener; Vincent Koziello released Plea and he curled the ball past Jonas Lossl. Guingamp were level in the 20^th-minute as Jimmy Briand found Mevlut Erding who directed the ball home.

Just as it looked as though the teams wouldn’t be separated at half-time, Nice were back in front after Jean Michel Seri scored from the edge of the box, with the help of a deflection. The hosts were forced to fight back once again and they got a helping hand in the 56^th-minute when Romain Genevois scored an own goal. Nice got the winner just past the hour mark; Hatem Ben Arfa delivered an excellent cross for Plea to guide the ball past Lossl and ensure his side went home with the three points. The visitors remain 4^th in the final Ligue 1 standings, while Guingamp finished 16^th.

Lorient 1-0 Gazélec Ajaccio

After a difficult first season in the top flight, Gazélec’s relegation was confirmed as they suffered a narrow defeat at Lorient. The Corsicans finished 19^th, three points below the safety mark with Lorient not too far ahead in 15^th. Wins for Reims and Toulouse meant that any result at the Stade du Moustoir would not have been good enough for Gazélec to survive.

Clement Maury kept the visitors in the game early on, denying Benjamin Moukandjo from opening the scoring. It didn’t take Les Merlus long to take the lead and it was Moukandjo who found the net; he completed a counter-attack after a long ball from goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte and a flick-on from Jimmy Cabot. There was no response from Gazélec as the home side saw the game out.

Monaco 2-0 Montpellier

A comfortable victory over Montpellier meant Monaco secured Champions League qualification and they needed to with Nice winning. The hosts narrowly missed out on 2^nd spot as they finished level with Lyon on points with only goal difference separating them; Montpellier on the other hand finished 12^th.

Les Rouges et Blancs’ intentions were clear from the offset and they took the lead in the 3^rd-minute; Ivan Cavaleiro was there to tap in at the near post following Nabil Dirar’s cross. Vagner Love could have doubled the lead but after some great work to escape the defender, he was denied by Laurent Pionnier in the Montpellier goal. He did have an involvement in the second Monaco goal though, winning a penalty after being brought down by Vitorino Hilton in the box. Fabinho scored his sixth consecutive penalty to secure the victory for the hosts.

 

Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Nantes

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s brace made for the perfect send off as he broke Carlos Bianchi’s record of 37 goals in a Ligue 1 season to go one better. PSG completed a fantastic season by scoring 102 goals and achieving a record 96 points for the campaign. The result left Nantes 14^th in the table; a great season was on the cards but six defeats in eight saw Les Canaris plummet in the league standings. The game was stopped in the 10^th-minute for Ibrahimovic and it was fitting he would open the scoring moments later after converting Angel Di Maria’s delivery. The two involved in the first goal combined to set up Lucas Moura for the second as the Brazilian calmly struck home.

The champions made it three shortly after half-time; Maxime Dupe did well to stop Ibrahimovic’s free-kick but the rebound was turned in by Marquinhos. Ibrahimovic continued to threaten the Nantes goal in an attempt to break the record and the inevitable happened in the 89^th-minute. The Swedish star lobbed Dupe with a header minutes before the full-time whistle, to mark the perfect end to his final game at the Parc des Princes.

Reims 4-1 Lyon

In need of a win to secure their safety, Reims put in their performance of the season to thrash Lyon but it still wasn’t good enough with Toulouse winning their game. Many will wonder why the hosts couldn’t perform so well earlier in the season, as Reims’ four-year spell in the top flight comes to an end. Reims took the lead through Aissa Mandi who was able to convert a Diego free-kick at the back post. Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa’s unscheduled departure opened the door for the home side and they doubled their lead just after the half-hour mark; Gaetan Charbonnier released Diego and the Brazilian fired a composed finish home.

Reims made the scoreline even more emphatic in an excellent fashion; Atila Turan added a third with an incredible strike to beat Anthony Lopes from 30 yards. Lyon were the masters of their own downfall later in the game; Samuel Umtiti thoughtlessly tackled Charbonnier inside the penalty area to give Reims a chance to make it four from the spot; a chance Grejohn Kyei took. Maxwel Cornet did give the Lyon fans something to shout about as he scored a consolation goal, capitalising on Johnny Placide dropping the ball at his feet. Reims couldn’t have done any more on Saturday and although it came to nothing, they have left Ligue 1 on a high. They finished 18^th but Lyon managed to hold onto 2^nd place.

Rennes 1-2 Bastia

After taking seven points from the last three games and winning at Roazhon Park, Bastia have finished in the top half of the Ligue 1 table, finishing the season in 10^th. Rennes on the other hand failed to win any of their final six games and blew the opportunity of European football, as they are 8^th in the league standings.

The visitors took the lead in the 21^st-minute; Francois Kamano met Julian Palmieri’s cross to head Bastia in front. Kamano was constantly causing problems and he doubled his tally for the match in the second half, firing a crisp strike from the edge of the box into the top corner of the net. Rennes did manage to pull a goal back, but Pedro Henrique’s effort was nothing more than a consolation for the hosts.

Saint-Étienne 0-1 Lille

Lille’s impressive turnaround came to an exciting end on Saturday as they won at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard to overtake Les Verts and claim the final Europa League qualifying spot. The hosts came very close to taking the lead but Vincent Enyeama proved his worth once again to excellently stop Loic Perrin’s header from finding the net.

Les Dogues found the breakthrough moments before the half-time interval and it came from the penalty spot. Rony Lopes was brought down in the box and the ever-reliable Eder was on hand to give Lille the lead ahead of the second half. Saint-Étienne felt they deserved a spot-kick of their own in the second period when Marco Basa appeared to handle the ball; however referee Clement Turpin waved away any claims. Another of Les Verts’ appeals was turned down when Romain Hamouma hit the floor from an Enyeama tackle to spark further controversy in the game. Lille held on for a huge win, seeing them climb to 5^th and leave Saint-Étienne feeling disheartened in 6^th.

Troyes 1-1 Marseille

Troyes managed to get a point on their final Ligue 1 game as they held Marseille to a 1-1 draw at the Stade de l’Aube. The hosts have been waiting for the season to finish for a number of weeks after three consecutive defeats; their fate was decided a long time ago but they ended the campaign on a small high.

The home side got the opener after just ten minutes when a Benjamin Nivet through-ball allowed Fabien Camus to run in on goal and place the ball past Yohann Pele. Steven Fletcher scored the equaliser after the hour mark, turning home Bouna Sarr’s pass. He was given a chance to net the winner as well after being brought down in the penalty area, but his effort from the spot was saved by Matthieu Dreyer. The draw left Marseille in a very disappointing 13^th place, but they have the cup final against PSG to look forward to, while Troyes expectedly finished bottom with a whopping 22 points between them and safety.