The Europeans are late, but they are there. Paris Saint-Germain, Olympique de Marseille and LOSC play their late match this Wednesday on the 29th day of Ligue 1, from which they had been excused to better prepare for their round-trip quarter-final of C1, C3 and C4 . Three meetings which have high stakes at the top of the table.
Paris SG can capture the 12th French champion title in its history this Wednesday. He must first win at FC Lorient (7 p.m.) then hope that Monaco, his runner-up, does not beat Lille (9 p.m.). In which case PSG would be 13 or 14 pts ahead with four L1 days remaining.
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On a festive level, it would be a shaky scenario for PSG, who would therefore be crowned without being on the pitch, but ideal with a view to preparing for their Champions League semi-final. Luis Enrique’s players will host Le Havre on Saturday (9 p.m.) before going to Borussia Dortmund (May 1) then welcoming the German club (May 7). “It doesn’t matter when we win the championship, we have deserved it for a long time,” Enrique praised at a press conference on Tuesday.
Monaco, 2nd with 55 pts, receives Lille, 4th with 52 pts. Between them, Brest (53 pts) which has a match in advance. The final sprint looks promising. The first three in L1 will be directly qualified for the next Champions League. The 4th will have to go through the play-offs, which are rarely successful for French clubs. LOSC would be all the more inspired to win as Nice (5th, 47 pts) is close to their backs, and the Aiglons will travel to the North for the last day of L1 (May 18).
This match is also a clash between two teams in good form, who have each won their last three league matches. Even if Lille had the greatest difficulty dominating Strasbourg (1-0) three days after its elimination on penalties from the Europa Conference League. It was hard “physically and mentally,” admitted goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier. Coach Adi Hütter, like his counterpart Paulo Fonseca, tried to relieve the pressure by refusing to talk about a C1 objective. The issue is no less real.
A victory in Marseille (9 p.m.) would lift OGC Nice to three points behind Brest, 3rd. But a defeat would leave the Aiglons 5th, one unit ahead of Lens, whose 6th place represents the last European car (Europa Conference League play-offs). The Riviera club, still leader of L1 in mid-November, went through hell at the start of spring (5 defeats in 6 matches). He has everything to gain and lose in the last matches. “Everything is open from 2nd to 10th place,” warned Nice coach Francesco Farioli.
The Italian coach (35 years old) sees this trip to the Vélodrome as “a fundamental match”. What is the true face of the young Nice troop led by Thuram (23 years old), Bulka (24), Todibo (24) and Moffi (24)? The authoritarian victory against Lorient on Friday (3-0) is perhaps the beginning of an answer.
It’s a bit of a last chance match to grab the top 6. OM, 10th in the standings, has the opportunity to move up to 7th and come back to within three points of Lens. Unexpected for a team which had a series of 3 defeats then a draw in Toulouse last Sunday (2-2). Fortunately, the competitors are not making much further progress. “We still have our future,” underlined Jean-Louis Gasset.
Marseille needs it, this top 6, so that its project does not have a difficult tomorrow after the current epic in the Europa League. “Like my predecessors, I did not find the formula outside. On the other hand, at the Vélodrome, we have an extra bit of soul,” noted Gasset. OM, however, has the right to fail in Ligue 1, on one condition: win the Europa League, and thus get a ticket for the next Champions League.
Not everyone plays for the title or the Champions League. FC Lorient have lost their last three matches without scoring a single goal. “Perhaps we need a slap of this order to bring everyone back to their senses,” lamented Régis Le Bris after the setback in Nice on Friday (3-0). The Merlus must achieve the feat against the Parisian leader on Wednesday to escape the red zone. They are 17th (26 pts) behind Le Havre (28 pts) and Metz (29).
“I’m not looking too far ahead,” said Le Bris. We must stay focused on the present moment. That’s the difficulty, not planning too much and not dwelling on regrets from previous matches.” The Morbihan team will then host Toulouse before going to Lens and Marseille. Every point will count dearly in the race to maintain.
