© EuroFootball.com
Over the weekend, the 35th round of the French football championship "Ligue 1" matches were played. With only three rounds left until the end of the championship, it became clear that next season we will definitely not see the team "Lille" defending the honor of France in the UEFA Champions League as in recent years.
Not long ago, the players of Lille were among the leaders, but recently they have been playing very unsuccessfully. After the 2-1 defeat to the "Saint-Etienne" team on Sunday, Lille dropped to 9th place in the standings, 10 points behind the third place which grants the right to play in the Champions League. Now, in order to make it to Europe, Lille needs to take the 5th place in the standings, which means that the team must win all three remaining matches, while the players of "Marseille", currently in 5th place, are not fighting for even a single point.
Following the 1-1 draw with "Le Mans" over the weekend, the chances of the "Nantes" club to stay in "Ligue 1" were almost lost. One of the most famous French teams now needs to win three games and hope for the failures of their main competitors. However, considering that "Nantes" has defeated its opponents only 6 times throughout the entire season, this mission is very difficult.
Currently, the most realistic contenders for the remaining two tickets to the UEFA Champions League are "Lens" and "Marseille", who won their matches over the weekend, as well as "Bordeaux", who played a draw. The "Rennes" and "Toulouse" clubs in 5th and 6th place respectively can still fight with them, as well as the teams "Sochaux", "Saint-Etienne", and "Auxerre" who still have theoretical hopes.
Results of the 35th round:
1 - 1
47` [1 - 0] Eduardo Cisse
90` [1 - 1] Juninho
1 - 0
81` [1 - 0] Ireneusz Jelen
80` David Gigliotti ("Troyes") sent off the field
1 - 0
89` [1 - 0] Anthony Le Tallec
2 - 0
84` [1 - 0] Seydou Keita
89` [2 - 0] Daniel Cousin
0 - 0
1 - 1
27` [1 - 0] Daysuke Matsui
90` [1 - 1] Claudiu Keseru
3 - 0
30` [1 - 0] Marc-Antoine Fortune
32` [2 - 0] Benjamin Gavanon (from 11m.)
40` [3 - 0] Kim
3 - 1
41` [0 - 1] Nabil Taider
45` [1 - 1] Nicolas Marin
74` [2 - 1] Stephane Noro
89` [3 - 1] Gregory Pujol
2 - 1
31` [1 - 0] Matt Moussilou
58` [1 - 1] Kevil Mirallas
62` [2 - 1] Matt Moussilou
1 - 2
13` [1 - 0] Jeremy Menez
45` [1 - 1] Franck Ribery
84` [1 - 2] Mamadou Niang (from 11m.)
Top scorers:
1. Steve Savidan ("Valenciennes") 13
2. Pedro Pauleta ("P.S.G") 12
3-7. Aruna Dindane ("Lens") 11
Ismael Bangoura ("Le Mans") 11
Fred ("Lyon") 11
Seydou Keita ("Lens") 11
Mamadou Niang ("Marseille") 11
8-9. Batefimbi Gomis ("Saint-Etienne") 10
Grafite ("Le Mans") 10
10. Kanga Akale ("Auxerre") 9
Standings:
[table=5][/table]
