The last day of Ligue 1, Saturday, will see Auxerre and Nantes fight at a distance to maintain, while four teams can still qualify for the European Cup.
Paris Saint-Germain are already champions, three teams – Troyes, Ajaccio and Angers – are already relegated and the UNFP trophies have already designated the best players of the season. However, the 38th and last day of Ligue 1, which takes place on Saturday June 3, should still offer a little suspense. In addition to Lionel Messi’s farewell to the Parc des Princes, as well as that of Sergio Ramos, who will obviously be scrutinized during PSG’s match against Clermont, several teams and players still have something to play for for the last round of this 2022-2023 season. .
The fight for Europe: four teams still in the race
If the question of the Champions League is already settled before this last day, Lens is qualified for the group stage, OM will have to go through two qualifying rounds, those of the Europa League and the Europa League conference are not. Not yet. Lille (4th, 66 points), Rennes (5th, 65 points), Monaco (6th, 65 points) and Lyon (7th, 62 points) can still hang the C3 or the C4.
The Lille, Rennais and Lyonnais will play away on this 38th day, an advantage for the Monegasques, who will host Toulouse. But the ASM players have been losing in recent weeks (one victory in the last six games). They will have to wake up and rely on a misstep from their competitors to regain fourth place, qualifying for the Europa League group stage, or fifth, qualifying for the Europa League conference play-offs.
The club that will finish sixth could have a good surprise in the coming weeks. Toulouse, qualified for the group stage of the Europa League thanks to its victory against Nantes in the final of the Coupe de France, could not play the competition next season. The RedBird investment fund, owner of the TFC, also owns AC Milan, which will compete in the Champions League next season. However, the UEFA regulations concerning timeshare prohibit two clubs owned by the same entity from competing in European Cups in the same season.
Toulouse will have to find a solution, which is possible, because Leipzig and Salzburg, which are part of the Red Bull fold, played in the European Cup the same year in 2017-2018. The decision will be made in several weeks and if it prohibits the TFC from participating in the Europa League, it is the fifth who would qualify for the C3. The sixth would compete in the C4 play-offs. Enough to make the race for Europe even more interesting during this last day.
The battle for maintenance: Nantes and Auxerre tremble
Who to support Troyes, Ajaccio and Angers in Ligue 2? When approaching this last day, Auxerre (16th, 35 points) and Nantes (17th, 33 points) are the last two teams to be able to be relegated. After having experienced the intoxication of the European Cup and a debacle in the final of the Coupe de France, the Canaries could live a catastrophic epilogue in a season which will remain in the history of the club.
In terms of the calendar, Pierre Aristouy’s players have a slight advantage: they will play at home against Angers, bottom of the rankings. Auxerre will host Lens, carried by impressive performances lately and especially by its qualification acquired for the C1. At the end of the evening, the AJA will know if it finds Ligue 2, a year after its rise or if it is Nantes which leaves the elite, ten years after having found it.
Top scorer: Mbappé wants to keep Lacazette at bay
On the 37th day, Alexandre Lacazette scored, unlike Kylian Mbappé. The Lyonnais thus returned to one unit of the 28 goals scored by the Parisian this season. What offer a nice fight at a distance for the title of top scorer between the two players during this last round. On the one hand, Mbappé will want to take advantage of Messi’s last offerings this season against Clermont, a team against whom he scored four goals in two games, to finish top scorer for the fifth season in a row.
Lacazette, he will play against Nice, a team he also likes to face (8 goals in 10 games). If the Lyonnais were to finish top scorer, he would end PSG’s dominance of seven consecutive seasons on this honorary title. The last non-Parisian striker to have won this trophy is called… Lacazette. In 2014-2015, he finished the season with 27 goals. Le Gone will have to do better to overtake Mbappé.