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The 33rd round of Ligue 1 began last Friday (13) with an expectation: Paris Saint-Germain could already be champions on Sunday with a victory over Monaco, the only club that could reach them on points. So, for “knockout” fans, today’s duel was like an anticipated final. With 84 points, the Parisians entered the field, while the Principality club had 70 points. With only five rounds remaining, the possibility of a turnaround seemed remote.
The end result? PSG 7-1 Monaco! Exactly: seven to one, a score that many consider an extreme shame. And that's what happened. The defending champions succumbed in melancholic fashion, with four goals already on the scoreboard after 28 minutes. Brazilians Jorge, Jemerson and Fabinho were unable to resist the strength of Marquinhos, Thiago Silva and Dani Alves. It is important to remember that Neymar, still injured, was not present in this massacre.
The shame was so great that, before an hour had even passed after the final whistle, Monaco's official Twitter account announced that it would return the money to all Monegasque fans present at the Parc des Princes. Title, therefore, much more than deserved. PSG, in fact, has not yet found itself in the Champions League, but that is a matter of time. It is necessary to be patient, understand how games work in the competition, reinforce oneself in a timely manner and maintain an aggressive stance in domestic competitions.
Ligue 1, as already mentioned, has
a consolidated leadership of PSG since the beginning of the competition. Clubs with more modest budgets need to look for other incentives to continue competing. Right now, an interesting fight is unfolding for places in the next edition of the Champions League. The first two positions in the table guarantee a direct place, and PSG has already secured one of them. Second place is occupied by Monaco, which has 70 points, while Lyon, with 66 points, occupies third place, which also offers the possibility of competing in the Champions League, but requires the team to overcome two opponents in the knockout stages.
Currently, Lyon and Olympique de Marseille, who also have 66 points, are fighting for third place, with Marseille behind on goal difference. OM is qualifying for the Europa League, with a long distance behind 5th place, Rennes, who have just 47 points.
The scenario indicates that we will see Monaco, Lyon and Marseille competing until the last round for these positions. Furthermore, PSG has already won the French League Cup, which also gives the champion a place in the Europa League, which allows the 5th placed team in Ligue 1 to also participate in the international competition. There is a possibility of PSG winning the French Cup, which is currently in the semi-final stage. If this happens, the Europa League places will extend from 4th to 6th place in Ligue 1, making the fight for 4th place practically in vain.
As far as relegation is concerned, bottom team Metz needs
of a miracle to escape. With 25 points, he is the favorite to finish in last place. Troyes, in penultimate, has 29 points, as does Lille, who is in third-last and would compete in a play-off with the 3rd place in Ligue 1. Above the relegation zone, up to 13th place, Toulouse (30), Strasbourg (34), Caen (35), Amiens and Angers (both with 37) are in danger.
In Ligue 2, the situation is clearer. Reims, the current leader, has a game in hand and has 75 points, while Nîmes, with 64 points, has the competition's top scorer, Umut Bozok, who has already scored 24 goals. Ajaccio, with 63 points, is in the promotion play-off zone.
Meanwhile, the traditional Nancy finds herself in second to last place, in a complicated situation. The season in France is coming to an end, and the battle for PSG continues into next season.