Paris Saint-Germain wrapped up the Ligue 1 Uber Eats title on Saturday to become French champions for a record-equalling 10th time. Ligue1.com looks back at the five keys to Mauricio Pochettino’s side reclaiming the crown from LOSC Lille.
A stunning start
The Parisians never looked back after a tremendous start to the campaign. They won their first eight matches of the season, including scoring four times in wins over RC Strasbourg Alsace, Stade Brestois 29 and Clermont Foot 63. Lionel Messi made just two appearances in that run as Pochettino’s side took advantage of a kind set of fixtures - six of the teams they beat in those opening weeks are in the bottom half today. As a result they were already nine points clear of the chasing pack by the end of September, never to look back.
Majestic Mbappé
It cannot be coated any other way - Messi’s impact has not been as great as was expected at the start of the season. There have been flashes of his genius. Most of his goals have come in the UEFA Champions League, although he has adapted his game in Paris to focus more on setting up goals for others. It is telling that six of his 13 league assists prior to Saturday’s game against RC Lens were for Kylian Mbappé. Meanwhile the France striker has once again eclipsed everyone else in the PSG side.
Mbappé has been by far and away PSG’s standout player and had scored 33 goals in all competitions coming into the weekend, three times as many as Neymar, the next most prolific marksman in the squad. He is on course to finish the campaign as Ligue 1’s leading scorer for a fourth consecutive season. His performances in Europe have been equally as impressive and the World Cup-winner is arguably the best player in the world right now.
Little wonder Real Madrid would love to sign him, but it is also no wonder PSG have been so desperate to keep the former AS Monaco man at the Parc des Princes. At 23 he can keep getting better for a few years yet.
Unstoppable at home
PSG came up short in last season’s title race behind Lille after suffering eight defeats over the course of the campaign. Five of those defeats came at home at the Parc des Princes, with Olympique de Marseille, Olympique Lyonnais, Monaco, FC Nantes and Lille all winning in the capital. In other words, PSG lost at home to every other member of the top five as well as a Nantes side who only just avoided relegation.
Last season the circumstances were different. Covid restrictions meant almost every home game was played behind closed doors. Those that were not, meanwhile, were played in front of just a few thousand spectators. This season has seen fans return in large numbers, with the exception of a couple of games in January that were limited to just 5,000 fans.
PSG’s team have duly made the Parc des Princes a fortress once again. Prior to hosting Lens they had won 15 and drawn one of 16 home Ligue 1 Uber Eats matches. Only OGC Nice had avoided defeat in the capital, drawing 0-0 in December before returning early in the new Year and winning on penalties in the Coupe de France after another goalless stalemate - curiously one of the matches where fans were limited.
With 46 points taken in those first 16 home outings, PSG had collected at least 12 more points in their own stadium than any other team. That has made an enormous difference.
A habit of scoring late goals
In the space of four days in September, Pochettino’s side came from behind to beat Lyon thanks to a last-minute Mauro Icardi goal and then won 2-1 at FC Metz as Achraf Hakimi struck in injury time.
That set the tone, for since then - and coming into Round 34 - PSG have on five occasions won games with goals scored in the 79th minute or later. They have also scored in the final quarter of an hour to earn draws on three occasions, including stoppage-time efforts from Georginio Wijnaldum at Lens and Icardi at Lorient.
Such a never-say-die attitude is often what sets champions apart from the rest.
Watch: Kylian Mbappé's late winner against Rennes in February
Challengers not consistent enough
Just as Lille’s title triumph last season could be partly explained by PSG’s failings, so the capital club’s success in this campaign has to an extent been facilitated by the inability of their rivals to maintain a consistent challenge.
Marseille actually started the season strongly, with four wins and two draws in their first six games. But they won just two of their next seven outings and a genuine title challenge was not possible thereafter. Meanwhile Monaco appeared distracted by their attempt to qualify for the Champions League group stage as they won just two of their first six games and lay in 10th place at the end of October.
The principality side have been playing catch-up ever since, while Lyon have just never got going. Both OL and last season’s champions Lille risk missing out on European qualification altogether, never mind challenging for the title. The likes of Stade Rennais FC and Nice, in contrast, were never expected to mount a title challenge and were always focused on securing European qualification, or a podium place at best.