May 24 – Three years after staving off relegation, Lille won their first French title in a decade at the weekend and prevented Paris St Germain sealing a record-equaling 10thstraight domestic crown.
PSG had to better Lille’s result, but Lille won 2-1 at Angers and PSG won 2-0 at Brest in an unusually thrilling climax to the French season.
Victory gave Lille only the fourth Ligue 1 title in their history, sparking jubilant scenes as PSG finished one point further back.
“It’s just exceptional, it was a long day with a lot of pressure,” said Lille coach Christophe Galtier, voted best coach for the third time.
“Beating PSG in a championship is something exceptional. The players were incredible … all credit goes to them, they are the heroes.”
Lille lost only three league games compared to eight for PSG and also conceded the fewest goals while keeping the most clean sheets.
Elsewhere, Monaco drew 0-0 at Lens to secure a Champions League spot, with Lyon two points back in fourth.
Such was the anticipation on the final weekend of the season that broadcast rights of the 10 matches were sold to nearly 100 countries.
Brest stayed up by one point from eight-time champions Nantes, who lost 2-1 at home to Montpellier to finish in 18th and will contest the promotion-relegation playoff spot with Toulouse. Nimes and Dijon were already relegated with Troyes and Clermont promoted.
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