© EuroFootball.com
This weekend, the 2006/2007 season of the French football championship "Ligue 1" ended with the last, 38th round of matches. Even before it became clear who will be the champion a few rounds before the final moment, it was not clear who will secure the last two spots in the next season's UEFA tournaments.
The team "Toulouse" secured a great victory at home against last year's vice-champion "Bordeaux" and secured a place in the UEFA Champions League. This victory crowned a great season for the team, as before the start of the championship, football experts predicted a place in the second half of the tournament table.
In the last round, the team "Rennes", who lost their leaders from the last season, secured a place in the UEFA Europa League tournament. "Rennes" played a 1-1 draw away with "Lille" on Saturday, which was enough for them to secure the 4th position. However, "Rennes" was very close to entering the Champions League, but in the last minute of the match, "Lille" player Nicolas Fauvergue sent the ball into the net, breaking the tie and taking two crucial points from "Rennes".
Three other clubs - "Lens", "Bordeaux", and "Sochaux" also accumulated 57 points in this year's championship, but due to a worse goal difference, they had to settle for lower positions. However, "Bordeaux" and "Sochaux" teams had already secured a place in the UEFA Europa League tournament by winning the French Cup and the League Cup, while the team that took the 5th place, "Lens", will start the next season with the UEFA Intertoto Cup tournament.
After the last round, it is clear that "Sedan", who entered the league just last year, along with "Troyes", who rose from "Ligue 2" two years ago, and one of the most famous French clubs "Nantes", will bid farewell to "Ligue 1" this season.
Results of the 38th round:
... (results of individual matches)
Top scorers: (Position, player, club, goals)
1. Pedro Pauleta ("P.S.G") 15 2. Steve Savidan ("Valenciennes") 13 3-5. Ismael Bangoura ("Le Mans") 12 Grafite ("Le Mans") 12 Mamadou Niang ("Marseille") 12 6-10. Aruna Dindane ("Lens") 11 Fred ("Lyon") 11 Seydou Keita ("Lens") 11 John Utaka ("Lens") 11 John Elmander ("Toulouse") 11
League table:
