After playing the last round of matches on Saturday, this season's "Ligue 1" championship came to an end. As was clear earlier, the champions title for the fifth consecutive year was won by the "Lyon" club. Meanwhile, the second and third places were taken by the "Bordeaux" and "Lille" teams, which earned the right to play in the UEFA Champions League next season. In the UEFA Europa League tournament next year, the honor of France will be defended by the clubs "Lens", "Marseille", "Auxerre", and "P.S.G."
The "Rennes" club had a chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League, but even the team that had theoretical hopes of playing in the UEFA Champions League before this round failed to overcome the "Lille" club and ended up in just 7th place. "Rennes" led after two goals from Alexander Frei until the 79th minute, but then Nicolas Fauvergue scored two precise strikes, equalizing the result and helping his team secure a point, guaranteeing a place in the Champions League.
A real goal feast in the final matches of the season was delivered to their fans by "Lyon", who at home wiped out "Le Mans" by a score of 8-1. Brazilian Fred scored three goals for Lyon, joined by his compatriots Cris and Juninho, Frenchmen Wiltord and Govou, and Portuguese Tiago. This victory crowned another excellent season for the team and confirmed that at least in France, there is currently not enough strength to stop the well-functioning "Lyon" machine.
The season ended with the relegation of the "Ajaccio" and "Metz" clubs to a lower division. The first defeated one of the most prestigious French teams "Saint-Etienne" with a score of 3-1 at home, while the second also won at home with a minimal result of 1-0 against this season's French cup winner "P.S.G."
Results of the 38th round:
3 - 1
21' [1 - 0] Djamel Abdoun
23' [2 - 0] Mathieu Scarpelli
26' [3 - 0] Mathieu Scarpelli
64' [3 - 1] Julien Sable
43' Bafetibis Gomis ("Saint-Etienne") sent off
8 - 1
14' [0 - 1] Grafite
18' [1 - 1] Fred
26' [2 - 1] Cris
29' [3 - 1] Sylvain Wiltord
38' [4 - 1] Fred
42' [5 - 1] Juninho
77' [6 - 1] Fred
88' [7 - 1] Sidney Govou
89' [8 - 1] Tiago
1 - 2
18' [0 - 1] Marama Wahirua
66' [1 - 1] Ziad Jaziri
86' [1 - 2] Ederson
3 - 1
8' [0 - 1] Emerse Fae
19' [1 - 1] Jussie
21' [2 - 1] Aruna Dindane
85' [3 - 1] Adama Coulibaly
1 - 1
76' [0 - 1] Toifilou Maoulida
87' [1 - 1] Fernando
68' Abdoulaye Meite ("Marseille") sent off
2 - 2
7' [0 - 1] Gael Givet (own goal)
63' [1 - 1] Ernesto Chevanton
67' [2 - 1] Francois Modesto
77' [2 - 2] Andre Luiz
2 - 2
35' [1 - 0] Alexander Frei
64' [2 - 0] Alexander Frei
79' [2 - 1] Nicolas Fayvergue
85' [2 - 2] Nicolas Fauvergue
1 - 2
7' [1 - 0] Laurent Batlles
79' [1 - 1] Weldon
89' [1 - 2] Erding Mevlut
1 - 0
87' [1 - 0] Szabolcs Huszti
4 - 0
19' [1 - 0] Thomas Kahlenberg
43' [2 - 0] Luigi Pieroni
47' [3 - 0] Luigi Pieroni
84' [4 - 0] Lionel Mathis
Champions League: Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille.
UEFA Europa League: Lens, Marseille, Auxerre, P.S.G (winners of the French cup).
Relegated to "Ligue 2": Metz, Ajaccio, Strasbourg.
Promoted from "Ligue 2": Valenciennes, Sedan, Lorient.
Top Scorers:
(Place, player, goals)
1. Pedro Pauleta ("P.S.G") 21
2-3. Peter Odemwingie ("Lille") 14
Fred ("Lyon") 14
4-5. Daniel Cousin ("Lens") 13
Sylvain Wiltord ("Lyon") 13
6. Luigi Pieroni ("Auxerre") 12
7-8. John Utaka ("Rennes")11
Araujo Ilan ("Sochaux") 11
9-10. Peguy Luyindula ("Auxerre") 10
Mamadou Niang ("Marseille") 10
League Table: