Matchday 25 in Ligue 1 came to a wrap over the weekend, with the recent round in the French top-flight producing some eye-catching results!
While the bulk of the games took place over the weekend, the action began on Friday with Lille's goalless draw at home to Metz, which is not the ideal result ahead of their UEFA Champions League showdown with Chelsea. Lyon, another giant of the French championship, were also held to a stalemate, drawing 1-1 with Lens in Saturday's first fixture.
PSG, meanwhile, fresh off their headline-making victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League, suffered a shock defeat, going 3-1 down away to Nantes. Similarly, Marseille suffered an upset, losing 2-0 to Clermont. Third-placed Nice, on the other hand, triumphed 1-0 and have thus gained ground on Sampaoli's second-placed side. Here's everything you need to know about the recent round in Ligue 1.
Who are the top teams in Ligue 1?
| Pos. | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSG | 29 | 19 | 9 | 1 | 69 | 25 | +44 | 66 | WDWWD | |
| 2 | Monaco | 29 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 55 | 38 | +17 | 55 | WWWDW | |
| 3 | Brest | 30 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 53 | LLWWD | |
| 4 | Lille | 29 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 43 | 25 | +18 | 52 | WWWDD | |
| 5 | Nice | 29 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 31 | 22 | +9 | 47 | WDLWL | |
| 6 | Lens | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 46 | WLDLL | |
| 7 | Rennes | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 44 | 36 | +8 | 42 | WLLLW | |
| 8 | Olympique Lyonnais | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 39 | 49 | -10 | 41 | LWWDW | |
| 9 | Olympique Marseille | 29 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 43 | 35 | +8 | 40 | DLLLW | |
| 10 | Reims | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 37 | 41 | -4 | 40 | LLDDW | |
| 11 | Toulouse | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 36 | 39 | -3 | 37 | DWDWL | |
| 12 | Montpellier | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 38 | 42 | -4 | 36 | WDWWL | |
| 13 | Strasbourg | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 33 | 41 | -8 | 36 | LWDWW | |
| 14 | Nantes | 30 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 28 | 48 | -20 | 31 | LWLWL | |
| 15 | Metz | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 31 | 49 | -18 | 29 | WWLLL | |
| 16 | Le Havre | 30 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 27 | 38 | -11 | 28 | LLDLL | |
| 17 | Lorient | 29 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 35 | 55 | -20 | 26 | LLLDL | |
| 18 | Clermont | 30 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 21 | 49 | -28 | 22 | LDDLW |
Ligue 1 top 3 scorers
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Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco): 14 goals
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Kylian Mbappe (PSG): 12 goals
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Martin Terrier (Rennes): 12 goals
Ligue 1 – top headlines
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PSG's 3-1 loss to Nantes grabbed all the headlines. Not only were the league leaders beaten convincingly, but they also conceded three goals in the first half, which was worrying. In fact, Pochettino's men conceded twice inside the first 20 minutes of a Ligue 1 game, making this only the third time it has occurred since QSI took over the Paris giants.
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Speaking of PSG's defeat, Nantes keeper Alban Lafont saved a penalty from Neymar, albeit a terrible spot kick, which could have sparked a comeback for Pochettino's men as the game was 3-1. This means that of the last four penalties saved in the league, three were made by none other than Lafont.
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While Lionel Messi did not light up the stage in that disappointing loss, the Argentine reached a lovely landmark as it was his 800th game in his professional career. La Pulga did not score but he registered a brilliant assist for Neymar.
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Marseille were handed a shock defeat as well, with that result setting an unwanted record too. This was the first time since August 1984 that the French giants had lost by 2+ goals at home to a newly-promoted side. Not a bad achievement by Clermont!
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Despite the controversial sending off of Tchouameni, Bordeaux were unable to beat Monaco, instead drawing 1-1 over the weekend. This result saw Les Girondins set an unwanted feat, becoming the first none-promoted club to fail to keep a clean sheet in their first 25 games of a Ligue 1 season.
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Lens fullback Jonathan Clauss once again got on the scoresheet over the weekend, netting his team's opening goal in the 1-1 draw with Lyon. As a result, he is the joint-best defender in terms of goal contribution (12) this season in Europe's top five leagues, level with Trent Alexander-Arnold, having scored three while assisting nine.
Top matches to watch in Ligue 1: Feb. 25-27, 2022
Strasbourg vs Nice: While Les Aiglons are not in the worst of positions, Nice will have their eye on the second and final automatic qualification berth for next season's UEFA Champions League. Unfortunately, Marseille currently occupy that position, but the gap is a mere point. Next up for Christophe Galtier's side is a clash with Strasbourg who are only three points behind in fourth. As a result, this will not be an easy fixture. Do not miss this tie.
PSG vs Saint-Etienne: This tie comes just before PSG's tricky back-to-back away games versus Nice in Ligue 1 and Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. As a result, the goal for their showdown against Saint-Etienne is simple: return to winning ways and get some of the underperforming players up to par. The visitors have won three of their last five outings and went unbeaten in four of those fixtures, meaning Pochettino's men can only take the opposition for granted at their own peril.
Lyon vs Lille: Two struggling giants lock horns next weekend as Lille look to climb further up the table while Lyon strive to make progress in their pursuit of European football. The home side are only four points behind fourth-placed Strasbourg, who occupy Ligue 1's Europa League spot. Les Dogues, meanwhile, will enter this tie on the back of their UEFA Champions League trip to Chelsea, which they are yet to play at the time of writing this piece. Who will win this showdown? Tune in to find out the answer.
Make sure you don't miss out on these key games and stay on top of all the action by checking out our bespoke Ligue 1 match page.
