Just a few matchweeks in, PSG already had a chokehold on Ligue 1. While still the Ligue 1 2024 odds favourites to win the top flight this season, PSG seem to have let off some of the weight on the gas pedal.
The Parisian outfit are still leagues ahead of second-placed Brest in the standings, boasting a 10-point lead, but juggling Ligue 1, the French Cup, and a nerve-racking Champions League campaign might be taking a toll on the PSG players.
This fatigue was evident during their most recent top-flight clash against relegation candidates Clermont Foot, where they failed to garner all three points from the worst club in the league.
To battle this, Luis Enrique opted to rest his star players for their clash against bottom-of-the-table Clermont Foot. It’s clear that their priorities are locked on the second leg of their quarterfinal bout against Barcelona in the Champions League.
“My aim was to send out a competitive starting 11, which we did, with many international players,” the PSG manager said after the match. “We had players out there who I knew wouldn’t be thinking about the next game.”
It should have been a sound decision, given the amount of threat Clermont Foot imposes, but not giving their Ligue 1 rivals enough concern almost cost them.
What most expected to be a routine win from the mighty PSG ended up being a 1-1 draw against the struggling Clermont side. And for the match to be held in front of the passionate Parisian crowd at Parc des Princes made the surprise results even more baffling.
The home team needed late game heroics from Goncalo Ramos to avoid a humbling defeat, but PSG didn’t lack in attempts whatsoever. They managed to get 23 shots at Clermont’s goal, but only seven were on target.
Lille are ready for European competition
One of the surprise packages this season in the French top flight has definitely been LOSC.
After finishing 10th in the 2021–22 season, then fifth last campaign, SBOTOP football fans have seen Lille’s gradual ascension in Ligue 1.
Paulo Fonseca and his men are currently sitting pretty comfortably in the fourth spot of the table, but they are well within striking distance of Monaco and Brest, who are only a handful of points ahead.
LOSC and Monaco are the hottest outfits in the top flight as of late, staying unbeaten in their last five with three wins and two draws each.
Monaco have cemented themselves as the third seed for quite some time now, and thanks to the pedestrian second half of the season from Nice and Lens, Monaco have not been in any convincing threat of being overtaken.
But now Monaco need to keep an eye on their rear-view mirror, as LOSC are now just three points away from overtaking them in Champions League contention.
Lyon are making a case for a top-five finish
In recent Ligue 1 2024 news, Lyon’s recent run is a testament that you only need to muster up a handful of stellar results to turn your season around.
After hitting rock bottom just a few matchweeks ago, Lyon are now well above the relegation zone with 38 points and actually have a convincing opportunity to finish the season as one of the top teams in Ligue 1.
After winning three of their last four, Lyon have joined the race for the final spot for European Contention along with Rennes, Marseille, Reims, and Lens.
It’s pretty established that this run is not a fluke whatsoever, as they clinched a French Cup final appearance amidst their hot top-flight run. They dismantled Valenciennes in the semis with a 3-0 clean sheet win, then proceeded to dismantle Nantes in the top flight less than a week later.
“We are still hoping to climb a few places and finish as high up the table as possible,” said 17-goal top scorer Alexandre Lacazette after last week’s 3-1 win at Nantes. “We have six great matches and lots of points still to play for.”
Lyon fans can thank Pierre Sage for the club’s resurgence this year, as they started to slowly but surely climb the Ligue 1 table when Sage was named interim coach following the axing of Fabio Grosso, whose reign only lasted seven matches.
Since Sage’s reign at the helm. Lyon have won 10, drawn one, and lost three in their last 14 games, garnering the most points out of any other outfit in the division in that span of time.
A lot of people have already counted Lyon out when they hit rock bottom of Ligue 1 in early December, but thanks to the brilliance of Pierre Sage and Lyon’s resilience, those naysayers are left in awe and scratching their heads to boot.
Undeniably, Lyon are back in the game.
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