Huge win for Lille as title and Euro race remains tight. Dijon relegated.
What a huge win for Lille coming from 2 - 0 down at title rivals Lyon to win 3 - 2. To win at Lyon is an achievement in itself, they've only lost 5 league games all season. To claw back a 2 goal deficit though, away from home and under pressure from PSG's Saturday win is impressive. Christophe Galtier has put together a strong side with a mixture of young talent and experience. They are topping the table on merit with consistent performances based on a strong defense, quality Goalkeeper and strength and pace in attack. Les Lillois have no established stars but don't seem to miss their better players when injured. If Celik or Fonte are out Djalo comes in and performs. When Jonathan David was injured Ikone was pushed forward and Yazici and Weah were used to great effect. Galtier has overseen some huge results from his team this season. Beating AC Milan 3 - 0 at the San Siro and winning 1 - 0 in Paris must have been a huge boost for the squads belief and confidence. With Sunday's performance and result adding to what has already been a remarkable season, Galtier may well have a Ligue 1 title to add to the Coupe De La Ligue he won with Saint Etienne in 2013. The Marseillais and former centre back seems comfortable with Lille's strategy of bringing players on to sell on at a profit. Rather than keeping them on with huge wages that are not sustainable for the club, players that make their names at Lille, and their have been many, are sold on for vast sums. Players like Eden Hazard, Yohan Cabaye and Lucas Digne all learnt their trade at Lille before being sold on for huge profits. More recently Vitor Osimehn, Gabriel and Nicolas Pepe have left also for substantial monetary gain. In a time when most football clubs run in a huge amount of debt, perhaps this is the strategy to follow. Just look at Bordeaux who suddenly find themselves in administration after US owners King Street announced they will no longer financially back the club. If Lille manage to win Ligue 1, having not broken the bank on transfers, the achievement will be all the more impressive.
Lyon are not out of the title race but this was a huge blow to them, With the top three all winning this weekend Les Lyonnais find themselves slightly adrift of the pack. They are still one of four teams that could win Ligue 1 this year but realistically will need to win at 3rd placed Monaco next week to stay in the hunt. What a match that could be!
Meanwhile the race for Europe continues. Marseille got their first away League win since the 6th November at Reims on Friday night which put them temporarily 5th. Lens responded well though on sunday, beating Nimes 2 - 1, despite having Sylla sent off in the 24th minute. That win put Les Sangs et Ors back to 5th by a single point. Rennes remain in the race for Europe after demolishing and relegating Dijon 5 - 1.
Dijon have been on an awful run of form, 1 win in 18 games. No surprise then that they will be playing Ligue 2 football next year. Nantes and Nimes are fighting it out for the 18th placed relegation play off place. Bordeaux and Lorient will be scared of getting sucked in to the relegation battle but currently have a 4 point cushion.
With just four games to go and relegation, Europe and the title still to play for this is one of the most exciting Ligue 1 Seasons ever.
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