The top football category in France returned to action after the international break with a bang, giving fans quite a few headlines to discuss.
For starters, the top five teams in the tournament are yet to lose a game, with PSG being the only one to keep a perfect record. To make things even more interesting, one of the teams that was promoted for this campaign is still fighting for the top spot, showing the rest of the opposition how to keep up with the French capital titans.
Without further ado, here are the main talking points after Matchday 5 in Ligue 1.
Who are the top five Ligue 1 teams after Matchday 5?
As mentioned before, PSG are top of the league thanks to their five wins in five games. This week's match proved that Les Parisiens' star-studded cast will be able to thump almost all opposition even if Neymar, Messi or Ramos did not have a role in their win. Elsewhere, Angers slipped a bit back due to their draw against Brest, and Marseille's win over Monaco saw them stay on top of things while waiting on the decision about their postponed match against Nice, who are also fighting for a spot among the top five.
Ligue 1 top 3 scorers
There are four players leading the pack with four goals: Kylian Mbappé, Moussa Dembelé, Kasper Dolberg, and Amine Gouiri. Out of those, only Mbappé and Dolberg are the ones that have not scored any of their goals from the penalty spot, which may give them more credit when the final numbers are in.
Ligue 1 – Top headlines
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Nice accomplishes defensive feat in win vs Nantes - The black and red side has enjoyed quite the start of the season, and it could get better once we know the verdict of their suspended match against Marseille. Right now, Christopher Galtier's team is the only team in the top five European leagues not to concede a goal in its first four games, which has certainly helped them to a good start of the season.
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Marseille make case for title contender status - The other team with a pending game is also making strides this season, and after this weekend's game, Marseille completed their best start of the season after four (complete) games with ten points for the first time in eight seasons. With Lille having a hard time winning games and with Lyon struggling on both ends of the pitch, it seems that Jorge Sampaoli's men can be considered as the true contender to knock PSG off their pedestal this campaign.
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Mbappé establishes himself as PSG's real key player - After being the talk of the transfer window, Mbappé has made one thing clear: he is ready to carry PSG's weight even if this is his last season with them. To make his case, Mbappé has contributed to 14 goals for Les Parisiens in their past ten games (11 goals, three assists), making him the most influential player for Pochettino's side. Now, as Neymar and Messi seem to be ready to play frequently for the French side, it will be quite interesting to see what this trio can do for both the French top-flight and the world of football.
Top matches to watch in Ligue 1 on September 17-19, 2021
Lens vs Lille: Les Dogues have been disappointing fans all season long, and even in such an early stage of the tournament, it seems that one more loss here could write them off the title race. Hence, beating their bitter rivals Lens in the Derby Du Nord seems like one big chance for turning things around before goind down quietly into the night as one of the worst defending champions in Ligue 1 history.
Nice vs Monaco: This should be a good test for Nice, as Monaco seem to have a team that could battle to win the title, but have run into a quite a few speedbumps during the start of the campaign. Now, in this early Sunday game, Nice and Monaco lock horns in what could be one of the best matches of the weekend.
PSG vs Olympique Lyonnais: The French capital team will try to defend their unbeaten run against Lyon, one of the perennial title contenders that has struggled to win games this season. At long last we could finally watch Lionel Messi start a league game for Les Parisiens, and with Mbappé in such a fine form, all we can do is wonder what their partnership can do for the French side. could finally see Lionel Messi making his debut in the domestic competition, and that should be enough reason to keep track of this game. Furthermore, Pochettino's team will try to keep their first clean sheet of the campaign, and facing a team that has scored as many goals as they have conceded (four) should help that purpose.
*Keep track of all the activity in the Portuguese top-flight by following our dedicated Ligue 1 competition page.
