Ligue 1: Week 35 Review, Forecast, and Rumors

Week 35 in Ligue 1 saw the race for European competition heat up, Lille maintain their lead at the top, Auxerre continue on their fine run of form and the relegation battle continue toward a final day of the season nail-biter. The following is a review of the results, their effects and some other tidbits from the full slate of midweek clashes.

Recap:

Ligue 1 leaders Lille pulled out a hard fought 2–1 victory at St. Etienne. Emmanual Riviere put Les Verts ahead with an early goal, but Lille struck back thru Tulio De Melo and Captain Rio Mavuba put home the game-winner midway into the second half. With the victory, Lille clinched a berth in next season’s Champions League.

Marseille kept Lille’s lead at four points by dispatching Brest 3–0. Loic Remy, Jordan Ayew and Gabrielle Heinze scored for the home side as OM kept their hopes of back to back titles alive. The win saw OM open the gap over third place Lyon thanks to Auxerre, as Brest remains a mere three points above the drop zone.

Auxerre officially ended Lyon’s slim title hopes with a 4–0 thrashing at Abbe Deschamps. Dennis Oliech opened the scoring early. Things only got worse for Lyon as Dejan Lovren was sent off after his second yellow before Alain Traore scored on both sides of halftime. Cedric Hengbert added a late goal to bring the tally to four for the home side. Lyon remain only one point ahead of PSG for the final Champions League spot.

PSG missed a golden opportunity to move past Lyon into third as they were held at the Parc de Princes 2–2 by relegation threatened AS Nancy. Erding and Camara put the home side ahead, but on both occasions, Nancy answered back with a PK from N’Guemo, and a strike from Hadji. The draw moved Nancy to within one point of Monaco in their attempt to avoid the drop to Ligue 2.

Rennes remained in fifth following their 1-1 draw with Caen. The point taken keeps Caen two points clear of relegation in their fight to remain in the top flight. Montpellier put FC Lorient’s European aspirations on a lifeline with a 3–1 win at home. The loss puts Lorient four points behind Sochaux for the final European spot. Sochaux extended their lead over Lorient in the standings with a 3–0 win over Monaco.

In other action, RC Lens kept their faint hopes of remaining in Ligue 1 alive with a 1–0 win over out of form Bordeaux. Nice beat relegated Arles-Avignon 3–2 to move closer to safety from relegation, and Toulouse played Valenciennes to a 0–0 draw to round out the midweek action.

How the Final Three Weeks Shape Up:

At the top, the title is Lille’s to lose as they have a four-point lead with three to go over defending champs OM. The run in provides a much tougher schedule for Lille as they must play Sochaux, PSG and Rennes to close out the season. All three are in European competition spots in the standings. Along with those matches, Lille have the added pressure of this weekend's cup final. OM closes with Lorient, Valenciennes and Caen.

While the title is a two-horse race, the relegation battle appears to be down to four teams as Nancy, Monaco, Caen, and Brest all set in a three-point span with Nancy currently in the final relegation position. Based on schedule, Caen appears most likely to fall as they must navigate Montpellier, Lyon and OM to close out the season.

Chaud et Froid (Hot and Cold)

Hot

Sochaux – Four wins and a draw in their last five have Sochaux in position for Europe.

Auxerre – Having taken seven of a possible nine points from the past three matches with a draw against OM, and wins against Montepellier and Lyon have moved Auxerre from the edge of relegation into safety.

Cold

Taye Taiwo (OM) – It is hard to refer to someone who is heading to AC Milan as cold, but getting suspended for your final home game for Marseille for singing Anti-PSG songs in a microphone puts you there in my book.

Bordeaux – Adding fuel to the fire that has been their poor run of form, Jean Tigana resigned as coach due to fans' abuse of his 16-year-old daughter.

Tidbits and Rumors

Most everyone has heard about PSG having a heavy interest in American Clint Dempsey, but many are split on if the move would be beneficial for the Fulham striker. I personally feel the opportunity to play in a European competition of some form next season will be better for Dempsey than with a team fighting for mid-table status, or going elsewhere in the Premier League and being a part time contributor.

There is no doubt Ligue 1 is not on par with the Premier League, but it is still a league possessing great quality, and a team like PSG would benefit Dempsey at this stage of his career.

Jean Fernandez, coach of Auxerre, is the rumored choice to replace Jean Tigana at Bordeaux.

Other rumors floating around include Sir Alex Fergusan beating Arsene Wenger to supposedly capture Lens defender Raphael Varene for Manchester United. Varene has been tracked by Arsenal and Bayern as well. Arsenal looks to have fallen behind in the race for Yann M’Vila’s services as United appear to be leading there as well.

Liverpool are thought to be in talks with St. Etienne for the services of Blaise Matuidi, and Dmitri Payet, and it would be easier to list the teams who are not interested in Lille’s Eden Hazard as it appears Inter Milan have began inquiries into the exciting youngster.