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France 24
17-05-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Nice take Champions League place, Saint-Etienne relegated in French season finale
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.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Last Champions League place, relegation to be decided in Ligue 1 finale
Nice hope to be celebrating Champions League qualification on Saturday but are one of four teams still in with a chance of finishing fourth in Ligue 1 on the last night of the season (Valery HACHE) Title-winners Paris Saint-Germain still have the Champions League final to look forward to later this month but the Ligue 1 season reaches its climax on Saturday with European places still up for grabs and a quartet of clubs scrapping to avoid relegation. PSG secured a fourth consecutive domestic title more than a month ago and will collect their trophy following Saturday's match at home to Auxerre. Advertisement Luis Enrique's side will then turn their thoughts to the French Cup final against Reims on May 24 and the Champions League final against Inter Milan in Munich a week later. Behind them, Marseille and Monaco clinched podium places, and guaranteed access to next season's Champions League, with victories last weekend combined with favourable results elsewhere. That leaves one spot in Europe's elite club competition to be decided, with four teams -- Nice, Lille, Strasbourg and Lyon -- still in contention for a place in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Nice, who fell short in the Champions League play-offs in 2017, are best-placed to take the remaining spot as they come into their final match at home to Brest in fourth place and with the best goal difference. Advertisement A 1-0 win for the Ineos-owned outfit would leave Lille needing to win by six goals, or Strasbourg requiring an eight-goal margin of victory for them to go above Nice. "I prefer to be slightly above the others in the table than slightly below them," admitted Nice coach Franck Haise, who took Lens into the Champions League two years ago. "To get fourth place, which would not be trivial, first of all we need to win. We know that." A slip-up would give a real chance to Lille, who finished fourth last season and then came through the qualifying rounds of the Champions League before going on to reach the last 16. Advertisement Strasbourg also retain hope of a first campaign in Europe's elite competition since 1979/80, despite the frustration of seeing a 12-game unbeaten run ended in a 2-1 loss at Angers last weekend. - Saint-Etienne to survive? - Lille and Strasbourg are both at home to relegation-threatened opponents, in the shape of Reims and Le Havre respectively. Lyon, meanwhile, know their chances of taking fourth are extremely slim. They must win at home to Angers and hope the three teams above them all lose, with the consequences of missing out on the huge prize money on offer in the Champions League likely very serious for them. Advertisement "First of all, we need to focus on ourselves," said Lyon coach Paulo Fonseca. "We know it's going to be very difficult for all the other teams to lose, but we must go out looking to win our match without thinking about the rest." The team finishing fifth will go into the Europa League with sixth entering the Conference League, although seventh place will be enough to qualify for Europe provided PSG win the French Cup. At the bottom, Saint-Etienne gave themselves a lifeline last weekend in their bid to avoid an immediate return to the second tier. A win at home to Toulouse will see them grab the lifeline of a two-legged play-off against either Dunkerque or Metz to stay in the top flight -- provided Le Havre do not win. Advertisement Reims and Nantes are also not yet safe from the danger of finishing in the bottom three. Key stats 4 - Four teams go into the last night of the season with a chance of taking France's fourth and final qualifying spot for the Champions League 21 - PSG's Ousmane Dembele has 21 goals and is on course to end the season as Ligue 1's leading scorer, although Marseille's Mason Greenwood is just two behind on 19 9- The number of PSG players named in the Ligue 1 team of the season -- Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier and Lyon forward Rayan Cherki were the only two from elsewhere to make the select XI Advertisement Fixtures on Saturday (kick-offs 1900 GMT) Lens v Monaco, Lille v Reims, Lyon v Angers, Marseille v Rennes, Nantes v Montpellier, Nice v Brest, Paris Saint-Germain v Auxerre, Saint-Etienne v Toulouse, Strasbourg v Le Havre as/ea
Daily Mirror
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Man Utd decide on three more players leaving Old Trafford at end of season
Manchester United have made a decision on the futures of three young players with Jack Kingdon, Sam Murray and James Nolan set to leave the club at the end of the season Jack Kingdon, Sam Murray and James Nolan are all set to leave Manchester United at the end of the season. The trio are all out of contract this summer and will depart on frees after not being offered new terms. A number of senior and academy players are due to leave Old Trafford in the upcoming window in what promises to be a transformative summer. And Kingdon, Murray are Nolan are the latest to be informed they will be leaving, the Manchester Evening News reports. Kingdon, 19, was a key player in the Under-18s' treble-winning team last season and has been performing well on loan at Rochdale since joining them in the January window. It is believed that he was close to signing for Ineos-owned FC Lausanne Sport on loan in January before opting for Rochdale, who he has helped reach the National League play-offs. The centre-back, who was born in Bolton and joined United from Morecambe for a six-figure sum in November 2020, has trained with the first team at Carrington and represented Scotland at various age levels. He also spent time training with Lausanne's first team in Switzerland last year, impressing their staff. Murray, 20, came to United as a teenager from Huddersfield and played in all six games of the successful 2022 FA Youth Cup campaign, which concluded at Old Trafford. The left-back, who recently captained the Under-21s against Wolves and scored against West Ham in the PL2 play-offs on Monday, has been a steady performer in the academy. Nolan, 19, a jack-of-all-trades on the pitch, joined Inverness Caledonian Thistle in Scottish League One on loan during the summer transfer window and has since made 33 appearances. The Chorley-born player has mainly been seen holding down the fort at full-back for Caledonian Thistle. The three will be part of a huge cohort of players seeking new employers in the summer. It was reported earlier this week, that only four players are deemed as untouchable by the United hierarchy, with the club open to offers on every other player. The quartet, as reported by the Daily Star, are understood to be Harry Maguire, Patrick Dorgu, Amad and captain Bruno Fernandes. Aside from those, United are open for business as they look to raise funds for a huge rebuild under Ruben Amorim. The Portuguese boss wants players that suit his system, but there is an understanding that outgoing business will need to be conducted first. Along with the players that can be sold for fees, four senior stars will be out of contract. Tom Heaton, Christian Eriksen and Jonny Evans will all leave, while Victor Lindelof is still unsure over whether he will be offered a new deal.
