In recent years, any mention of Ligue 1 will elicit comments such as ‘farmer’s league’. While the standard is not actually that low, it is understandable why fans are bored by France’s top-flight with Paris Saint-Germain having claimed seven of the last eight titles.
The capital side were awarded last season’s title when the Covid-19 pandemic curtailed the campaign early as they led Marseille by 12 points with a game in hand.
Thomas Tuchel under pressure as capital side fail to convince
This season, Tuchel’s side are facing a more sustained challenge from the chasing pack as they are just two points ahead of Lille after a dozen matches.
So far the Parisians have already lost three games, including two consecutive defeats, against Lens and rivals Marseille, at the start of the season for the first time since 1984/85.
They were also held to a disappointing draw against Monaco despite holding a three-goal advantage at half-time, although the signing of striker Moise Kean on loan from Everton has proved fruitful so far with the Italian already netting six times.
The Qatari owners did not buy the club to just monopolise the domestic league, so Tuchel is under pressure due to his failure to win the Champions League last season as they lost 1-0 in the final to Bayern Munich and they face a struggle to even progress from the group stage this year.
They have considerable attacking talents in Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. The latter became the fastest PSG player to reach 50 goals in Ligue 1 with a penalty against Bordeaux at the weekend in his 58th game but have glaring deficiencies in defence.
For the first time since 2006/7, they have faced at least 16 shots In their last three league home games (18 v Bordeaux, 16 v Rennes and Dijon).
Neymar celebrates scoring his sides third goal against Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League Group on the December 02, 2020
Galtier’s Lille hoping to go one further than 2019
Despite ending the Covid-hit campaign in fourth place, Lille seem the most likely challengers to PSG’s crown, having conceded only eight goals as they look to regain their place in the Champions League after finishing runners-up in 2018/19.
Current coach Christophe Galtier, took the reins at Lille in December 2017, after eight years at Saint-Etienne where he transformed them from a relegation-threatened side to one consistently challenging for Europe.
Premier League fans, and Arsenal in particular, will be familiar with a couple of their recent stars they sold for a neat profit with Nicolas Pepe (£72m) and Gabriel Magalhaes (£23.14m) moving to the Emirates over the last two summers.
Napoli also broke their transfer record to sign Victor Osimhen from Les Dogues for €70m but Lille have invested this money wisely, recruiting the once-touted superstar Renato Sanches from Bayern Munich on loan and the €30m capture of 20-year-old striker Jonathan David from Gent.
Burak Yilmaz of Lille OSC celebrates scoring against AC Sparta Praha in the the UEFA Europa League on the December 3, 2020
Striker Burak Yilmaz was also snared from Besiktas in the close season and the Turk has been a key player in Lille’s recent form – becoming the first player in the club’s history to be involved in at least one goal in seven consecutive matches.
As well as their impressive backline, marshalled by former Southampton centre-back Jose Fonte and summer signing Sven Botman, they have shown their ruthless streak at times with 4-0 victories over Lens and Lorient.
Their throwback to 4-4-2 is the basis for their defensive solidity with experienced midfield pairing Benjamin Andre and Xeka providing a reliable screen for Fonte and Botman allowing Yusuf Yazici and David to cause havoc further forward.
Turkish attacking midfielder Yazici scored twice against Lorient, a couple of weeks after he had grabbed a famous treble at the San Siro as Galtier’s men shocked Serie A leaders AC Milan.
It is still early in the season but Les Dogues have the capabilities to match their 2010/11 title-winning campaign and end PSG’s domination to become only the second team other than Monaco to win Ligue 1 in the last eight seasons.
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