PSG put seven past Monaco to take the title
Paris-Saint Germain were crowned Ligue One champions in emphatic fashion on Sunday night. Unai Emery’s side did it in the perfect manner, as they not only beat the team in second place and last season’s title winners to secure the trophy, but they did it with a superb display.
PSG were incredibly 4-0 ahead inside the opening half-hour. Edinson Cavani gave them an early warning, when he missed a strong opportunity in the 9th minute.
A good team move from PSG saw Giovani Lo Celso finish from close-range, which was perfectly set-up by Dani Alves. Cavani added a second with a powerful header from a Julian Draxler cross just three minutes later.
Angel Di Maria raced clear of the Monaco defence to chip the ball over goalkeeper Danijel Subasic for the third. Lo Celso netted his second and only his third for the club in the league, when Javier Pastore provided the assist.
Rony Lopes pulled one back for the away side before half-time, with his 11th goal since the winter break. Di Maria made it five on the hour mark, Radamel Falcao unfortunately scored in the wrong end when it bounced off his shoulder and then Draxler made it 7-1.
It emphasised the gulf in class between PSG and the rest of the division this season. Monaco were previously unbeaten in the league in their last 17, as they last lost in November.
Ángel Di María with another cracking goal 🤙
3-0 inside 20 minutes!
Marseille make yet another comeback
Marseille had to come from behind twice to defeat struggling Troyes 3-2. The Stade de L’Aube had not witnessed a goal for the home team in 272 minutes prior to kick-off, but they didn’t have to wait long with Samuel Grandsir hitting the target with a header after just 37 seconds.
Clinton N’Jie equalised 10 minutes later, when Dimitri Payet caught the Troyes backline sleeping with a clever pass from a free-kick into the feet of the Cameroon forward. In the second half, Troyes restored their advantage when the ball fell kindly to 41-year-old midfielder Benjamin Nivet, who became the oldest scorer in French history.
However, Marseille showed the spirit and mental strength that saw them turn around the result against RB Leipzig on Thursday. Kostas Mitroglou came off the bench to draw them level and then the fit again Florian Thauvin scored a brilliant volley with just five minutes left.
Another impressive display from Depay
Lyon won for the fifth league game in a row, with a fourth clean sheet in this period. It was a comfortable 3-0 victory for Bruno Genesio’s men, which saw Memphis Depay key once again.
The former Manchester United winger assisted Mariano Diaz for the opening goal and then scored his 14th league goal late on. The Dutchman hasn’t been a regular starter for the club this term but has been exceptional in the last two months.
Bertrand Traore made it three, whilst Nabil Fekir made his first appearance back from injury.“Nothing has been decided yet and we'll have to stay very motivated and focused in order to hold onto third place,” admitted Genesio.
Saint-Etienne snatch victory
Strasbourg put in a good performance against Saint-Etienne, but they just couldn’t find the net. They had 16 shots on goal in comparison to the away sides five, as they lost 1-0.
Mathieu Debuchy put last week’s own goal behind him to net eight minutes from time. “It wasn't far off being a hold-up but when you've got a great goalkeeper and a defender who never gives up and keeps popping up with decisive goals, well it shows we have moral fibre,” confessed coach Jean-Louis Gasset.
Lille blow victory
Two goals in stoppage time denied Lille a valuable three points at home to Guingamp. Nicolas Pepe and Luiz Araujo scored in the space of three minutes to put Christophe Galtier’s men into a commanding position.
However, an own goal from Junior Alonso and a Jimmy Briand finish saw them share the points. “We're affected by it, I'm not going to lie,” said Galtier after the match, with Lille still only a point from safety.
Honourable mentions
Metz surprisingly beat fifth-placed Rennes 2-1 at the Roazhon Park. It was only the bottom sides sixth win of the campaign and their first for almost three months. They are now only five points from getting out of the relegation zone with five games remaining, which would be an incredible escape given that they have been in the bottom three since the third match-day.
