The clock is ticking for Ligue 1 clubs. Three days before the end of the season, the race for European places and the fight to maintain it are in full swing, and will animate the grounds of the 36th day from Friday. May 6.
Small particularity, the matches will take place until Wednesday, because of the final of the Coupe de Franc between Nantes and Nice. After Marseille’s defeat at the Olympico on Sunday, the positions tightened at the top of the table. The hierarchy could temporarily move from the final whistle of Lille-Monaco on Friday evening.
Marseille, Monaco and Rennes aim for the Champions League
They are three for two places in the Champions League. Marseille remains, despite its setback against Lyon, the best placed team. With a three-point lead, the Phocaeans will want to recover on the ground of Lorient, whom they had beaten 4-1 during the 10th day.
Behind, two teams are knocking on the door for second place directly qualifying for the C1: Rennes and Monaco, tied with 62 points. The Monegasques are simply unstoppable: having won their last seven games, the players from Le Rocher will play the shock of this day against Lille, tenth.
The Rennais, they will face their neighbors Nantes a few days after the final of the Coupe de France, Wednesday. The Bretons could take advantage of the fatigue of the Canaries, pocket the second derby of the season, after their victory in the first leg (1-0), and stay in the race for the most prestigious of European competitions.
Metz, Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne on the edge of the precipice
Garnets and Girondins are in great danger. The two clubs could be mathematically relegated after this day, in the event of defeat and a favorable result from their direct opponents, Saint-Etienne and Clermont.
For Metz (25 points), which receives Lyon on Sunday, the maintenance operation seems strongly compromised. Frédéric Antonetti’s men have not won since January 16. They dropped two points against Montpellier on Matchday 35 as they led 2-0 in Matchday 80. The Lyonnais, they remain on a brilliant success at the Vélodrome, against Marseille (3-0), and have not yet drawn a line on a European qualification.
The situation is no more exciting in Bordeaux, stuck in 19th place (27 points). The Girondins are on a series of four games without a win and are still four points behind the play-off place, as for three days. They have one last opportunity to revive themselves, Sunday, in Angers, an opponent who has the second worst record in 2022 (10 points).
Saint-Etienne (31 points) is also playing a pivotal match in its season. Occupying the place of barrage, two lengths from 17th, Clermont (33 points), the Greens can still believe it, even if they face Wednesday Nice, current 5th in the championship and contender for Europe. They will just be able to capitalize on the accumulated fatigue of the Aiglons, expected on Saturday in the final of the Coupe de France.
Ben Yedder and Terrier don’t want to let Mbappé escape
Other rankings fascinate a certain number of followers, in particular that of the top scorer in the championship. At its peak, this season we find the inevitable Kylian Mbappé. With his 24 units, the Parisian is in pole position to pocket the reward for the fourth consecutive season.
But Martin Terrier and Wissam Ben Yedder still have their say. Like their respective clubs, Rennais and Monegasque are fighting a long-distance duel for second place in the scorers’ rankings, which they currently occupy with the same number of goals (21), while keeping Kylian Mbappé in their sights. .
3 – Seasons with 3 players with more than 20 goals in Ligue 1 in the 21st century:
2016/17 (Cavani 31, Lacazette 28, Falcao 21)
2021/22 (Mbappe 24, Ben Yedder 21, Terrier 21)Exciting. pic.twitter.com/qh9Ssk8icT
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) May 2, 2022