Monaco, Marseille and Reims… What implications for the 3 referees in the fight for 5th place?
On Saturday May 21, during the 38th day of Ligue 1, the RC lens will fight at a distance with Nice and Strasbourg to clinch 5th place.
Nice will play for its part in Reims, Strasbourg will be in Marseille while the RC Lens will be the only one to receive, against Monaco. But to what opposition will the Lensois, Nice and Strasbourg? Small summary of the stakes for these adversaries who also play the role of referee. One can easily see common interests between the RC lens and Marseille looming decides that each will face a competitor of the other for high stakes.
Monaco (2nd) who visited RC Lens (7th):
Monaco will be far from freewheeling at Bollaert. ASM, unstoppable at the moment, occupies 2nd place with 68 points, only ahead of Marseille on goal difference (+25 against +21). While OM will receive Strasbourg, Monaco will therefore have to perform at Bollaert to ensure that they do not lose this precious 2nd place directly qualifying for the Champions League, unlike 3rd. As a reminder, one of the sine qua non conditions for RC Lens to qualify for Europe is victory against Monaco.
Marseille (3rd) who will accept Strasbourg (5th):
Marseille will do everything to win at home against Strasbourg. Not only do the Olympians want to get 2nd place, which they have held for a long time, but they also remain under threat from Rennes, 4th at 3 points with a better goal difference. Ending up in the Europa League would be a disappointment for OM. For RC Lens to be European, Strasbourg will have to lose at the Vélodrome, even if an unlikely scenario could allow Lens to qualify in the event of a draw from Alsatians, combined with a failure of Nice (draw or defeat) in Reims. But for that it would be necessary to beat Monaco by more than 7 goals of difference…
Reims (12th) which will receive Nice (6th):
Reims is the only team in this trio of games that has nothing concrete to play for. But we seem to be able to count on the Rémois to play the game to the end. They played their role of referee in the fight for the maintenance on Saturday in the important 2-1 in Saint-Etienne. They will also want to finish on a high note at home after losing against Lens. Facing Racing too, the Champenois were already saved, and it was not until the last minute that Franck Haise’s players snatched victory. As a reminder, if Lens beats Monaco, Nice will have no choice but to win in Reims to stay ahead.