logo
Nice take Champions League place, Saint-Etienne relegated in French season finale

Nice take Champions League place, Saint-Etienne relegated in French season finale

France 2417-05-2025

Champions League finalists Paris Saint-Germain had already clinched the title while Marseille and Monaco wrapped up qualification for Europe's elite club competition before the Ligue 1 campaign reached its climax.
However, one more spot at the continent's top table remained up for grabs on the last day with fourth-placed Nice in pole position to take it if they could hold off the challenges of Lille, Strasbourg and Lyon.
The Ineos-owned club made sure of a top-four place by crushing Brest 6-0 on the Cote d'Azur with Gaetan Laborde scoring twice.
Ivorian international Evann Guessand put Nice in front with his 12th Ligue 1 goal this season, with Badredine Bouanani later netting a penalty before Terem Moffi and Ali Abdi also hit the target.
Nice will enter next season's Champions League in the third qualifying round in early August and will have to win two two-legged ties to make the league stage.
Lille finish fifth and go into the Europa League after substitute Chuba Akpom's late penalty secured a 2-1 win at home to Reims, while Strasbourg suffered a dramatic 3-2 loss against Le Havre in a result which created a stunning late twist in the relegation battle.
Le Havre needed to win and hope one of Reims or Nantes lost in order to escape the drop zone, and the Normandy side showed remarkable resolve to come from behind twice before snatching victory in extraordinary fashion.
Abdoulaye Toure's second penalty of the game, in the ninth minute of stoppage time, propelled Le Havre out of the drop zone and means Reims will go into a play-off against second-tier Metz for the right to play in Ligue 1 next season.
Reims will now have to navigate the two legs of that tie either side of next weekend's French Cup final against PSG.
Lacazette's 200th Lyon goal
Strasbourg's defeat allowed Lyon to climb above them and take sixth place as they beat Angers 2-0 with Alexandre Lacazette scoring twice.
The former Arsenal striker's brace saw him reach a double-century of goals for his boyhood club as he now prepares to leave Lyon, the side where he made his Ligue 1 debut in 2010.
Rayan Cherki, another of Lyon's standout performers, later indicated that he would be leaving the club.
"I am going to remain prudent but I think that was my last game for Lyon," said Cherki.
Lyon are guaranteed European football next season and will be in the Europa League if PSG win the French Cup, which would mean Strasbourg go into the Conference League.
Saint-Etienne needed a positive result as well as favours from elsewhere in order to avoid being relegated but they slumped to a 3-2 loss at home against Toulouse.
Yann Gboho scored what proved to be the winner for Toulouse, as 10-time champions Saint-Etienne make an immediate return to Ligue 2.
"I take full responsibility for our relegation," said Saint-Etienne coach Eirik Horneland.
"I think we could have done much better with this team but we can be optimistic about the future."
PSG title party
PSG warmed up for their upcoming finals, including the Champions League showdown with Inter Milan in Munich on May 31, by coming from behind to beat Auxerre 3-1.
Lassine Sinayoko put Auxerre ahead as the visitors threatened to spoil PSG's title party, but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored twice in the second half for the hosts either side of a Marquinhos header. Goncalo Ramos also had a penalty saved.
Marseille made sure of finishing second as they beat Rennes 4-2 at the Velodrome with Mason Greenwood scoring twice, including once from the penalty spot, while Adrien Rabiot also grabbed a brace.
Greenwood scored 21 goals in his debut Ligue 1 season to finish as the division's joint-top marksman alongside PSG's Ousmane Dembele.
Third-placed Monaco slumped to a 4-0 loss at Lens. Neil El Aynaoui netted twice for Lens, whose coach Will Still later announced his departure from the club.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Como block Inter move for Fabregas
Como block Inter move for Fabregas

France 24

timean hour ago

  • France 24

Como block Inter move for Fabregas

Inzaghi left on Tuesday following Inter's humiliating 5-0 thrashing by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final. Reports subsequently linked Inter with a move for the former Spain international Fabregas. "We communicated our refusal directly to the president of Inter, who accepted it with the courtesy and clarity expected between clubs who hold a mutual respect," Como said in a statement. "For this reason, we are treating the persistent rumours of their interest in our coach as pure fantasy." Fabregas, 38, who had a glittering club career with Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea, took over last July as coach of Como, the club where he ended his playing career in 2023. Under his guidance, the promoted side finished tenth in Serie A, often praised for their attractive play. Following the announcement of the departure of Inzaghi, who officially joined Saudi club Al-Hilal on Thursday, Inter had made Fabregas their priority. According to the Italian press, they have now turned their attention to Cristian Chivu, a former Inter player, who is currently in charge of Parma.

Has the PSG fan become unbearable in the office?
Has the PSG fan become unbearable in the office?

LeMonde

time3 hours ago

  • LeMonde

Has the PSG fan become unbearable in the office?

At the office, the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fan has long served as a way to blow off steam: He or she was the colleague you would drop in on with a wry smile after a miserable weekend when their favorite team had suffered yet another defeat. A poor soul at whom colleagues would lob fake-sympathetic jokes ("You won't be spending your holidays with Sergi Roberto!" – a reference to the FC Barcelona player who crushed PSG in 2017). With morale at rock bottom, this aficionado reliably pointed to the magnetic pole of defeat, somewhere near the Parc des Princes, the team's stadium. Alone in their corner of the open space, decorated with a poster of PSG legend Rai, this diehard fan sometimes managed to develop a true managerial philosophy of transcendence through failure, repeating over and over, "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger." Everyone else would quietly stifle their laughter. But that was before. Before Saturday, May 31, 2025, when, after a legendary 5-0 win, PSG snatched the Champions League title from under Inter Milan's nose. That colleague, who had endured years of humiliation while gritting their teeth, naturally showed up on Monday after the feat, their jersey draped over their shoulders, head held high, striding through the halls with body language broadcasting a clear message: "I told you so!" This is not someone merely celebrating a sporting achievement, but a true believer who has just witnessed a biblical resurrection. Carried by faith, they believed without evidence long before anyone else. In their scenario, coach Luis Enrique stands in as a sort of Jesus Christ who managed to transform a soulless team into a winning machine – as if turning water into wine. Post-victory depression On X, Fabien S. summed up the vengeful spirit of this office ultra: "Flag, jersey and scarf in the bag. I'm going to get a crazy amount of pleasure from saying: 'Good morning, how are you? Did you have a good weekend?' Every Marseille supporter at the office gets a message on Teams this morning." In truth, seeing your dream come true is never easy. Sometimes, it's even the worst thing that can happen to a dream. The famous line from journalist Thierry Roland after France's World Cup win in 1998 ("I think after this, we can die happy") led football fans down the wrong path.

Champions League: These are all the records broken by PSG
Champions League: These are all the records broken by PSG

Euronews

time4 hours ago

  • Euronews

Champions League: These are all the records broken by PSG

PSG's Champions League triumph wrapped an incredible football season in Europe. Luis Enrique's team crushed Inter 5-0 in the Munich final, winning an historic treble, and making it the biggest margin ever in a major international football showdown. It is worth noting, however, that Ajax beat AC Milan 6-0 in the last leg of the 1974 UEFA Super Cup, although the trophy is not widely regarded as a major one. PSG's win also marked a long-awaited milestone in the Champions League era. They now hold the record for the longest gap between a club's first Champions League appearance and their first title: 31 years, according to data analysed by The team also became the only one to have seven different goalscorers in a single Champions League match, following their 7-0 win over Brest on 19 February: Barcola, Kvaratskhelia, Vitinha, Doué, Mendes, Ramos and Mayulu. Inter's 5-0 thrashing however should not overshadow their extraordinary run to the final. True to the great Italian tradition of defending, the Nerazzurri set an incredible record by going 539 minutes without conceding a single goal from the start of the tournament, despite playing against top opponents such as Manchester City and Arsenal. The previous record was held by Manchester United, who kept opposition teams out for 481 minutes in the 2010-11 season when they got all the way to the final. Although Barcelona didn't make it to the final, many of their players broke individual records. Starting with Rafinha, the 28-year-old Brazilian matched Cristiano Ronaldo's 2014 record for the most goal involvements in a single Champions League season: 21 in total, thanks to an astonishing 13 goals and 8 assists. That wasn't the only individual record set by the Catalans. Described as one of the most difficult opponents to face by several players, Lamine Yamal became the youngest footballer to ever score in a Champions League semi-final, at just 17, against Inter. That smashes Kylian Mbappe's previous record, set at 18 years of age when he scored for Monaco in the 2016-17 campaign. There was some joy for Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, too. Thomas Müller extended his record for the most appearances for a single club in the Champions League era to 163, while Harry Kane became the first player to ever score a hat-trick of penalties, in September's game against Dinamo Zagreb. When it comes to appearances, Real Madrid bumped their record with 28 straight seasons in the competition, as well as extended their streak of reaching the knockouts 28 times in a row. Similarly, their former manager, Carlo Ancelotti, now at Brazil, extended his record for managerial appearances to 218 and further increased his record for Champions League victories by reaching 124. On the other hand, Girona and Feyenoord broke the record for the most own goals in a single Champions League season, with four each, breaking Fenerbahçe's previous record of three own goals in the 2007-08 season. At the same time, Feynoord's Austrian defender Gernot Trauner became the first player to ever score two own goals in a single UCL game, in a 6-1 loss to Lille in January.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store