Lille finished third in Ligue 1 and qualified for next season. champions league On the final day, they lost 0-2 at home to Auxerre, and although they had already won the championship, French champions Paris Saint-Germain The domestic campaign ended poorly.
Lille, Lyon and Rennes were in third place by Sunday’s final round and could have joined champions PSG and runners-up Reims in Europe’s top club competition. However, none of the trio were able to achieve a win, leaving Lille one point ahead of Lyon and clinching the coveted Champions League spot.
Mali forward Racine Shinayoko scored Auxerre’s two goals, ensuring the team remained in the lead and avoided a relegation play-off.
Lille captain Benjamin Andre said: “This is not the game we wanted to play, but the important thing is to finish third. This is a reward for the whole season. We shouldn’t focus on this last game.” “This is very important for the club. Everyone wants to play in the Champions League.”
Lyon’s hopes of finishing third quickly disappeared as manager Paulo Fonseca’s men found themselves three points down before half-time at home to Lens. Florian Thaubin added another goal in the second half, giving the away team a 4-0 victory.
Meanwhile, Marseille defeated Rennes 3-1 with goals from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Amin Gouiri and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Esteban Leport, the league’s top scorer, closed the gap with his 21st goal of the season.
With this victory, Marseille are level on points with Rennes but have a higher goal difference and move up to 5th place, qualifying for the Europa League.
In Paris, PSG They clinched their 14th league championship on Wednesday.ended their domestic season with a short trip to neighboring Paris FC and a 2-1 defeat.
Bradley Barcola put PSG ahead, but Alimami Gory equalized in the 76th minute and completed his brace in stoppage time. PSG previously lost in the French Cup by Paris FC in January.
PSG will now focus on preparing for the Champions League final against Arsenal on May 30th at Budapest’s Puskas Arena.
Nice, who drew 0-0 with bottom-placed Metz, finished in 16th place and will face Saint-Etienne in a tricky promotion/relegation play-off. The pitch was invaded seconds after the final whistle.
Strasbourg made a remarkable comeback, beating Monaco 5-4 from a 4-1 lead in the 55th minute. Marcial Godo and Sebastian Nanashi both scored two goals in this match.
Halilhodzic’s chaotic last game
Nantes’ veteran manager Vahid Halilhodzic watched the final game of his career end in a forfeit.
Coach Halilhodzic was presented with a guard of honor by the players and staff before the game against Toulouse and received a huge round of applause.
But in the evening It quickly fell into chaos Angry fans stormed onto the field because of Nantes’ relegation to the second division. After a long stoppage, local authorities ordered the match to be canceled for safety reasons.
Halilhodzic, 74, will return to Nantes in March and retire after failing to fulfill his mission to keep the eight-time champion among the elite.
Halilhodzic won the French title with Nantes as a striker in 1983 and is third on the club’s all-time scorers list with 93 league goals. He scored eight goals for the then Yugoslavia national team. His coaching career included spells at Lille (where he was named Manager of the Season) and PSG, as well as managerial positions in Ivory Coast, Algeria, Japan and Morocco.
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