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The "Marseille" club, which had a tumultuous season, gained good form towards the end of the championship and after several successful consecutive matches, now, with just one round left until the end of the championship, secured a place in the UEFA Champions League. This was achieved by the "Marseille" players on Saturday with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against "Saint-Etienne" who had already lost hope of playing in Europe. "Marseille" showcased an excellent form in these matches, with Djibril Cisse shining towards the end of the season and Matthieu Valbuena scoring the decisive goal less than 5 minutes before the end of the match.
The weekend turned out much worse for the "Troyes" club, who were leading against Paris' "P.S.G" team away, but in the middle of the second half, Parisian leader Pedro Pauleta scored two goals in 6 minutes and snatched victory for his team. After this defeat, "Troyes" lost all hope of avoiding relegation to "Ligue 2" and joined the "Nantes" and "Sedan" teams, who will also play in the second-tier French football division next season.
The fight for the remaining two spots in the respective Champions League and UEFA Cup tournaments continues. Currently, three clubs - "Lens", "Bordeaux", and "Rennes" - realistically vie for the 3rd and 4th positions, which grant them the right to play in Europe. The 6th-placed "Sochaux" club also still has hopes, although their position is the worst.
Meanwhile, the "Toulouse" team, which had been in second place for a long time towards the end of the season, played a goalless draw in this round against the last-placed "Nantes" and lost any chances of playing in European tournaments next season. It is worth mentioning that the match against "Nantes" was interrupted almost 10 minutes before the end, as unhappy fans invaded the pitch due to the team's performance.
Results of the 37th round:
1 - 0
59` [1 - 0] Jeremy Menez
2 - 1
23` [0 - 1] Benjamin Nivet
71` [1 - 1] Pedro Paulete (from 11m.)
78` [2 - 1] Pedro Pauleta
4 - 1
2` [1 - 0] Mario Melchiot
23` [1 - 1] Oscar Ewolo
51` [2 - 1] Bruno Cheyrou
77` [3 - 1] John Utaka
88` [4 - 1] Cyril Jaunechamp
0 - 0
0 - 0
1 - 1
59` [1 - 0] Grafite (from 11m.)
71` [1 - 1] Edixon Perea
5 - 2
20` [1 - 0] Marc-Antoine Fortune
32` [2 - 0] Sebastien Puygrenier
45` [2 - 1] Valter Bisa
67` [3 - 1] Benjamin Gavanon
79` [4 - 1] Marc-Antoine Fortune
89` [4 - 2] Moumouni Dagano
90` [5 - 2] David Sauget
1 - 1
51` [0 - 1] Eric Hassli
65` [1 - 1] Joseph Desire Job
1 - 2
54` [0 - 1] Djibril Cisse
70` [1 - 1] Pascal Feindouno
86` [1 - 2] Matthieu Valbuena
2 - 1
15` [1 - 0] Thomas Kahlenberg
28` [1 - 1] Abdulkader Keita
79` [2 - 1] Ireneusz Jelen
**League Table**
