Ligue 1 round-up: Messi and Neymar booed but Mbappe continues brilliant goalscoring form on Matchday 28

Matchday 28 in Ligue 1 did not fail to deliver! The latest round in the French top-flight kicked off on Friday with Lille's 0-0 draw with St-Etienne, with the fun and excitement carrying on into the weekend thanks to a number of interesting encounters.

Nice were the first to take to the pitch over the weekend, taking on Montpellier on Saturday, but unfortunately drew 0-0. PSG, meanwhile, bounced back from their unforgettable UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid by beating Bordeaux 3-0, but that did little to appease their fans as the supporters booed several players, mainly Lionel Messi and Neymar.

Marseille also returned to winning ways, thrashing Brest to reclaim the second and final UEFA Champions League spot for now. Rennes also enjoyed a brilliant result, triumphing 4-2 at Lyon to boost their European ambitions. 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	28	18	9	1	65	24	+41	63	DWWDD
2		Brest	29	15	8	6	44	27	+17	53	LWWDL
3		Monaco	28	15	7	6	53	38	+15	52	WWDWD
4		Lille	28	13	10	5	42	25	+17	49	WWDDW
5		Nice	29	13	8	8	31	22	+9	47	WDLWL
6		Lens	29	12	7	10	38	32	+6	43	LDLLW
7		Olympique Lyonnais	29	12	5	12	38	45	-7	41	WWDWW
8		Reims	29	11	7	11	36	39	-3	40	LDDWD
9		Olympique Marseille	28	10	9	9	41	33	+8	39	LLLWW
10		Rennes	29	10	9	10	41	36	+5	39	LLLWD
11		Toulouse	29	9	9	11	34	37	-3	36	WDWLL
12		Strasbourg	29	9	9	11	33	40	-7	36	WDWWL
13		Montpellier	29	8	10	11	36	41	-5	33	DWWLW
14		Nantes	29	9	4	16	28	45	-17	31	WLWLL
15		Le Havre	29	6	10	13	27	37	-10	28	LDLLW
16		Metz	29	7	5	17	30	49	-19	26	WLLLW
17		Lorient	29	6	8	15	35	55	-20	26	LLLDL
18		Clermont	29	4	10	15	21	48	-27	22	DDLWL

Ligue 1 top 3 scorers 

Ligue 1 – top headlines 

• Nice were unable to maintain their winning streak as they were held to a goalless draw by Montpellier, thus surrendering the no.2 spot to Marseille. One huge factor in this stalemate was the sending off of Dante, with the Brazilian defender picking up a red card after only 35 minutes. As a result, he has now become the first player in Europe's top five leagues to receive two red cards in 2022.

• Nice drew their recent clash, but they can count themselves lucky to have even picked up a point as they committed a penalty in the first half. Fortunately for Christophe Galtier's side, Montpellier were unable to capitalize as Téji Savanier failed to convert that spot kick. To put things into perspective, that was his third penalty miss from the last four he has taken.

• PSG bounced back from their recent UEFA Champions League embarrassment, beating Bordeaux in a game that saw both Lionel Messi and Neymar get booed by the Parc des Princes fans. Kylian Mbappe, on the other hand, was spared, and he showed why during the weekend victory by netting the opening goal. That strike took his Ligue 1 tally this season to 15 goals, becoming the sixth Frenchman to score 15+ times for four consecutive seasons in Europe's top 5 leagues in this century, following in the footsteps of Thierry Henry, Antoine Griezmann, Alexandre Lacazette, Karim Benzema and Wissam Ben Yedder.

• Strasbourg beat Angers 1-0 and have thus maintained their impressive push for European football this term. One thing going in their favor is their goalscoring form, with the fifth-placed side netting their 50th goal of the season. This is their highest tally after 28 games since they were crowned the champions of France back in 1978/79. Additionally, the last 36 teams to score 50+ goals in the first 28 games of the season have finished in the top four and thus qualified for Europe.

• Things went from bad to worse for Lyon as the French giants lost 4-2 to Rennes on Sunday. As a result, Les Gones sit in 10th position, their worst position after the first 28 games of a Ligue 1 season since 1996/97 (11th), a campaign which saw them finish the term in 8th.

• Marseille returned to winning ways, thrashing Brest 4-1 to reclaim the no.2 spot in Ligue 1. Pau Lopez reached a lovely feat in this victory as he set up Under for the fourth and final goal, becoming the first Marseille goalkeeper to register an assist since Opta began collecting stats in 2006/07.

Top matches to watch in Ligue 1: March 18-20, 2022

Nantes vs Lille: Strasbourg currently occupy the fifth and final European ticket, but the competition is intense, with sixth-placed Lille sitting only four points behind while seventh-placed Nantes boast a mere five-point deficit, hence the importance of this clash. Whoever loses might kiss their European ambitions goodbye. The home side lost their most recent outing while the visitors are unbeaten in their last five league games. However, the defending champions cannot underestimate their opposition.

Monaco vs PSG: Bragging rights are up for grabs in this clash as Monaco look to get the better of league leaders PSG. Mbappe and Co. are all but destined to win the title thanks to their 15-point lead at the top. Nonetheless, Rouges et blancs will strive for revenge over Les Parisiens, having lost 2-0 in their Parc des Princes encounter earlier on in the season. It will be interesting to see if Neymar and Messi can make amends with the fans after being jeered and whistled in their recent outing. Don't miss this clash.

Marseille vs Nice: While the title race appears to be over, the fight to qualify for the UEFA Champions League continues to deliver twists and turns. Marseille and Nice are going head-to-head for that ticket, with these two clubs set to face off this weekend in a decisive clash. The two teams are level on 50 points, so this fixture won't decide the outcome, but it will play a huge role given that fourth-placed Rennes are only a point behind. Nice slipped up against Montpellier but will look to utilize their rock-solid defense in order to overcome Payet and Co. Make sure to catch this showdown.

Make sure you don't miss out on these key games and stay on top of all the action by checking out our Ligue 1 Uber Eats competition page.