#Ligue #Champions #League #SaintEtienne #suspended #Metz #Bordeaux #relegated
The curtain has fallen on the 2021-2022 Ligue 1 season, with the final act bringing surprises and disappointments on Saturday 21 May. The spectators enjoyed the spectacle of Kylian Mbappé at PSG, the fury in Marseille classified in extremis in the Champions League against Monaco, the pain of the relegated Metz and Bordeaux and the pardon snatched by Saint-Etienne, road blocker.
The brilliant victory of Paris SG against Metz (5-0) was completely overshadowed by the extension until 2025 of star striker Kylian Mbappé, rumored in the afternoon and confirmed by president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi before kick-off, all smiles along with your jewel. “Very happy to stay in France, in Paris”the forward assiduously courted by Real Madrid received an ovation from the Parc des Princes, euphoric and then astonished by the hat-trick (25Y28YfiftyY) of the French world champion.
The record-hungry number 7 of the Rouge et Bleu has become the first player to complete an L1 season as top scorer (28) and best passer (17). And as the party was total, Neymar scored his 100Y Goal with Paris and Ángel Di María, the last one, in tears at the end of seven years in the French capital.
Champions League: Marseille beats Monaco in the goal
At the Vélodrome, the OM fans experienced a magical evening: a 4-0 card against Strasbourg and Lens’ draw in added time against Monaco (2-2), synonymous with second place and direct qualification for the next Champions League. The Marseille recovered the folding seat that the Monegasques had blown up last weekend after an incredible scenario. As protagonists: Gerson (double), Under and Bakambu on the Olympic side, without forgetting Ganago, RC Lens’ scorer in ’96Y minute.
The Olympians will try next year to do better than the extras in C1 where, in their last appearance in 2020-2021, they finished last in the group. The Monaco dragster, carried to Lens on the momentum of his nine wins in a row, finally stalled just short of the finish line. Philippe Clement’s team, still eighth in mid-March, finished on the bottom step of the podium. It will be necessary to go through a preliminary round, then a play-off to be won in August to be able to access the lucrative group stage of the Champions League. In case of failure, the principality club will be donated to the Europa League.
European Rennes and Nice
Rennes sweated a lot on Saturday night but their draw at Lille (2-2) was enough to make them happy. The Bretons finish in fourth position, with the same number of points as Nice but with a much higher goal difference. Without Guirassy’s late goal, Bruno Genesio’s side would have been beaten at the post by a completely unleashed Niçois in Reims (3-2). Trailing 2-0 in less than twenty minutes, the Aiglons defeated their hosts in the second half with an Andy Delort hat-trick.
OGC Nice will have to settle for the Europa League Conference next season, a disappointing consolation prize for a team still sitting second in the Championship at the start of March. The withdrawal of a point inflicted after the rampages at the Allianz Riviera in August against OM will have been fatal for the Ineos-owned club.
Strasbourg missed out on their European ticket at the Vélodrome and ended their great season in sixth place, ahead of Lens and then Lyon, in eighth after their 2-1 win at Clermont.
The greens are still alive
AS Saint-Etienne retains the possibility of remaining in Ligue 1 after their miraculous draw in Nantes (1-1), where Hamouma dressed as a superhero in the last quarter of an hour. In play-off position, the Greens will face Auxerre, winner of the second division play-offs, on May 26 and 29 with a return match at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, where one stand will remain closed for reasons disciplinary.
The tenacity of the Stéphanois is the misfortune of Metz, nineteenth with one point less. The Garnets return to Ligue 2, three years after leaving it. They go down to the ground floor in the company of the Bordeaux, a historic monument of the French Championship, relegated for the first time since 1991 (administrative demotion).
The club with the scapular ended its catastrophic season (players ruled out, ulcerated fans, defeat against OM after 44 years of invincibility at home…) with an insufficient card in Brest (4-2).