Les Dogues beat Angers 2-1 in their final match of the season to win the Ligue 1 title. Christophe Galtier’s side broke Paris Saint-Germain’s hegemony over the French crown as they lifted the fourth league title in their history.
Jonathan David and Burak Yilmaz scored in Lille’s 2-1 win over Angers, which consequently confirmed their place as the Champions of France. Les Dogues finished a point ahead of Paris Saint-Germain, whose win over Brest wasn’t enough to propel them to the championship title. Lille became the second team to break the Parisiens’ dominance in recent years after Monaco won the title in 2017.
Lille’s first goal came as a result of an excellent run by Renato Sanches. The Portugal international picked the ball up close to the halfway line and beat a few of the opposition defenders before playing in an inch-perfect pass to David. With all the hard work done, the Canadian simply slotted the ball past Paul Bernardoni to put Les Dogues on the cusp of glory.
Galtier’s side was then presented with an opportunity to double their lead just before the half-time whistle. David – who had taken advantage of a defensive lapse – was brought down by Bernardoni. Yilmaz stepped up to score his sixteenth goal of the season, and Lille went into the break two goals up.
Meanwhile, over at Stade Francis-Le Ble, PSG had taken a one-goal lead with them into the interval. The Parisiens led courtesy of an own goal by Romain Favre after Neymar had missed a penalty. Mauricio Pochettino’s team would finish the game as 2-0 winners, although that wouldn’t be enough for them to displace Lille from the top.
Les Dogues did concede a late goal in their match. Angelo Fulgini – who had tested goalkeeper Mike Maignan on a few occasions – headed in the consolation goal in the 92nd minute of the match. Lille, however, survived a bout of frail nerves and nail-biting finish to reclaim the French crown, nine years after their last one.
Lille finished on top of the league, followed by PSG and Monaco – with all three teams qualifying for next season’s Champions League. Meanwhile, Lyon and Marseille qualified for the Europa League, while Rennes secured a berth in the inaugural Europa Conference League.
