Two days after the 10-year anniversary of its last Ligue 1 triumph, Lille capped a dominant season with a league title on the final day, ending Paris Saint-Germain’s run of three straight titles.
Since Lille’s 2011 triumph, PSG has won seven Ligue 1 trophies, only losing once in the last eight seasons entering this year. But three years after finishing 17th, Lille outlasted the French giants with an impressive final stretch in which the club conceded only one league goal since the start of April.
While PSG lost eight times this season—its highest total since Lille’s title-winning 2011 season—Lille lost only three games all season and beat PSG 1-0 in their long-anticipated showdown at the start of April. And with the title win, U.S. international Tim Weah earns his third Ligue 1 medal after two with PSG.
While La Liga and the Premier League were filled with last-minute drama on their respective final days, Lille cruised to a 2-1 victory over mid-table Angers. Leading scorers Burak Yilmaz and Jonathan David each added goals before half-time. PSG could only watch its 2-0 win over Brest prove futile to its title chase as the former champions finished second, just one point behind Lille.
Meanwhile, Lyon missed a golden opportunity to claim a spot in next season’s Champions League with a 3-2 loss to Nice that saw Monaco clinch the third and final spot with a draw with Lens.
The last time Les Dogues took a trophy back to Lille, a regional capital near the Belgian border, the team featured Eden Hazard, Gervinho, Idrissa Gueye and Moussa Sow, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had returned to AC Milan following an unsuccessful loan.
And while it may only be a matter of time before its title-winning side is dissected by Europe’s biggest clubs once again, Lille will celebrate its standing as the top club in France in a monumental season where it beat the odds.
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