Also-rans Lens and Marseille jostle for PSG's leftovers
It's been something of a competition this time around. Marseille and particularly Lens have kept the Ligue 1 pacesetters Paris Saint-Germain – in British football parlance – honest.
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On Saturday night, Marseille played at Lille with a chance to maintain their slender hopes for the title.
But after taking the lead at the Stade Pierre Mauroy through Jonathan Clauss, those dreams evaporated.
Jonathan David levelled from the penalty spot five minutes after the restart and Jonathan Bamba struck Lille's winner 20 minutes from time.
C'est fini ! 🔥
— LOSC (@losclive) May 20, 2023
Combatifs comme des Dogues, nos joueurs obtiennent une victoire précieuse face à l'OM 👊🤩
Rendez-vous samedi prochain 🔜#LOSCOM 2-1 | 90'
Marseille's journey north was overshadowed by the absence of veteran midfielder Dimitri Payet and the defender Nuno Tavares.
📋𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐃
— Olympique de Marseille 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 (@OM_English) May 20, 2023
Here's the group that makes the trip to northern France ahead of tonight's showdown#LOSCOM | ⚪️🔵 pic.twitter.com/E5yPMDI2yq
It is understood that Marseille boss Igor Tudor took a dim view of their attitude in training over the past week.
Typically tough from the 45-year-old Croatian who vowed at the start of the season he would not tolerate a bad attitude from any player in his quest for team spirit and unity of purpose.
Key ingredients for a game against a side that had not lost at home since 31 August.
"I thought we were the better side but it was a difficult game that didn't go in our favour," Tudor told French broadcaster Canal + after the 2-1 defeat.
"The penalty took the wind out of our sails and we weren't dangerous enough up front. I'm sorry for the players, tonight we wanted to win but we weren't good enough."
Lille's victory kept them fifth with 63 points - two behind fourth-placed Monaco who also have two games remaining.
A place in next season's Europa Conference League or even the Europa League will be up for grabs in the final weeks of the campaign.
Not a bad return from Lille boss Paulo Fonseca who took over last summer from Jocelyn Gourvennec.
Reward
Fonseca's efforts have been rewarded with a place on the shortlist for best Ligue 1 manager of the season – a salute he shares with Saturday night's counterpart Tudor.
The Lille goalkeeper, Lucas Chevalier, also made the five-man shortlist for his position.
The 21-year-old will vie with PSG's Gigi Donnarumma, Lens' Brice Samba as well as Anthony Lopes of Lyon and Pau Lopez of Marseille for the accolade which will be awarded next Sunday evening.
"I've done some good things this season," said Chevalier. "And I'm really happy to have made the shortlist. There's lots more work to do because there are things we want to achieve this season."
Fifth or even fourth spot at the end of the season would represent a significant improvement on the 10th place finish under Gourvennec.
But it is still a descent from the lofty heights of 2021 when Lille claimed the Ligue 1 crown under Christophe Galtier – now at the parish of PSG.
Galtier's recompense for steering the Parisians to the title at the end of his first season in the hot seat could be sack.
PSG's glory-seeking backers crave not such trinkets. Theirs is a wide-eyed, tongue-lolling desire for the Champions League – European club football's most prestigious trophy.
Loss
And PSG were eliminated in the last-16 after a comprehensive roughing up at the hands of Bayern Munich.
The Germans soon received a taste of their own medicine when they were efficiently deconstructed by Manchester City in the quarter-finals.
And while City - crowned champions of England on Saturday night for the fifth time in six years - feast their eyes on the joys of the Champions League final next month in Istanbul against Inter Milan, PSG's players can focus on more parochial events such as Lens' visit to the Stade du Moustoir on Sunday afternoon for their match against Lorient.
"There's been a lot of intensity, quality and pleasure during the training sessions over the past week," said Lens boss Franck Haise.
And why not? Monaco's 0-0 draw last week with Lille assured Lens of at least third place and a berth in the qualifying rounds of next season's Champions League.
But much more is available.
Achievement
"Fantastic to be assured of a top three place three games before the end of the season," said Haise.
"But the players want to continue to be ambitious and to give everything right until the end," he added.
"All we can do is keep trying to win until the end of the season and see what happens."
If Lens fail to take all three points, it will allow PSG the chance to clinch a ninth Ligue 1 crown in 11 years and a record 11th overall when they play at relegation-threatened Auxerre on Sunday night.
"Auxerre will be playing to stay up," said Galtier. "And we will be playing to maintain our lead.
"Their stadium will be full, and their fans will want to push their players to go for a win but it's up to us to make sure we have the upper hand in the match."
A team boasting the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi – both on the shortlist for player of the year – should have enough to see off an outfit hovering just one point above the drop zone.
And if PSG lose? Well, honestly.
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