L1: Marseille qualifies for the Champions League, Monaco and Philippe Clément in the preliminary rounds
OM snatched 2nd place in Ligue 1 this Saturday, synonymous with direct qualification for the C1 next season.
By AFP
Marseille qualified for the Champions League on Saturday and Monaco, Rennes and Nice also validated a European ticket after the last day of a Ligue 1 which lost Bordeaux and Metz and saw Saint-Etienne snatch a reprieve.
Falling last week from their 2nd place directly qualifying for the group stage, Marseille (2nd, 71 points) left no chance in Strasbourg (6th, 63 pts), beaten 4-0 in a boiling Vélodrome stadium.
Held in check at Lens (2-2), Monaco (3rd, 69 pts) gives up 2nd place and will have to pass, like last year, through the preliminary rounds.
Behind, Rennes (4th, 66 pts) got hot: led twice to Lille on a double from Timothy Weah (11th, 88th), the Red and Blacks came back to score twice, by Benjamin Bourigeaud (41st, for the 100th but of the club this season) and Serhou Guirassy (93rd).
They were almost overtaken by a stunning Nice team (5th, 66 pts too but a lower goal difference): led 2-0 from the 18th minute in Reims, Christophe Galtier’s men snatched their ticket for the League Europa Conference thanks to a triple from Andy Delort in the second half (3-2).
They thus succeed on the wire the surprise Strasbourg (6th, 63 pt), which remains at the gates of its European dream.
At the bottom of the table, Saint-Etienne (18th, 32 pts) obtained a reprieve by snatching the place of play-off thanks to its draw (1-1) in Nantes. The Greens will face Auxerre next week in an attempt to stay in the top flight.
It’s a cold shower for Metz (19th, 31 pts), who had pulled out of the red zone but is definitely returning there, swept away 5-0 by PSG on a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappé (24th, 28th, 50th) and goals from Neymar and Angel Di Maria.
And there was no miracle for Bordeaux, who needed an avalanche of goals in Brest: they encouraged L1 by winning well in Brest (4-2) but it was still far from the mark .