All the top-five European leagues except the English Premier League are enjoying a good break for a week or two during a winter period. English Premier League will continue their traditional Boxing Day fixtures and two more matches after that despite a Covid-19 outbreak in the United Kingdom.
Paris Saint-Germain decided to regain their league title from LOSC Lille before the start of the league. They spent a good amount of money brilliantly in the summer transfer window and ensured title already. All other big teams except Olympique Lyonnais will be fighting for second place in the second half of the season.
Ligue 1 2021-22 Standings:
PSG made six big signings in the summer transfer window after losing their league title to Lille last season. The signing of full-backs Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi strengthen their defence to the next level. The free signings of Giorginio Wijnaldum and Sergio Ramos were a smart business from the management. But French capitals shocked everyone with the signing of Lionel Messi and Gianluigi Donnarumma. Messi received his record 7th Ballon d’Or and Donnarumma won the best goalkeeper in the world award. PSG re destined for the Champions League trophy this season. Regaining league title already becomes easy enough when they ended the first season with 13 points lead to 2nd placed OGC Nice.
French giants have lost just one match this season and won 14 in 19 league games. In the process, they have scored 39 goals and conceded 17. Nice and Olympique de Marseille are lying in 2nd and 3rd place in the table with 33 points, just 2 points above 4th placed Rennes. Montpellier SC are in 5th position, the last slot to qualify for next season’s Europa League. League giants AS Monaco are just 2 points behind Montpellier, thanks to their recent impressive results.
Champions LOSC Lille are struggling in the 8th position with 28 points, 5 points behind 3rd placed Marseille. Lyons are also failed to build on their last season’s success. They sit in 13th position with 24 points, with an extra game in hand. So only 9 points separate from 2nd placed Nice to 13th placed Lyons. It will be a mouth-watering battle for the 2nd and 3rd position in the second half of the season. Teams like Lyons, Lille, and Monaco will be taking help from the winter transfer window for sure.
One of the most successful clubs in Ligue 1 history, Saint-Etienne are lying at the bottom of the table. They have managed to win just 2 league matches this season and have won just 12 points so far. They are 5 points off to the safe zone, but hopes of they remaining in the top tier of French football are slim. Lorient and Metz are the other two teams who have occupied relegation places with the same 16 points. All the three teams above them are struggling with 17 points, so the relegation battle will be fierce in the second half of the season.
Everyone predicted Lionel Messi topping the goalscoring charts with the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe alongside him. But Argentine legend has scored just 1 league goal in 13 appearances so far. Mbappe has also slowed down with just 9 goals in 17 league matches but topped the assists chart with 8 goals. Neymar is also struggling for the goals, scored just 3 league goals in 10 matches, and has yet to score a Champions League goal this season. Lille forward Jonathan David is leading the goalscoring charts with 12 goals, 2 more than 2nd placed Monaco strike Wissam Ben Yedder.
Ligue 1 2021-22 Stats:
Highest Goals Scored by Team:
- PSG – 39 Goals
- Rennes – 34 Goals
- Strasbourg – 34 Goals
- Lens – 33 Goals
- Montpellier – 33 Goals
Lowest Goals Scored by Team:
- Lorient – 15 Goals
- St-Etienne – 17 Goals
- Troyes – 18 Goals
- Clermont Foot – 20 Goals
- Reims – 22 Goals
Lowest Goals Conceded by Team:
- Marseille – 15 Goals
- Nice – 17 Goals
- PSG- 17 Goals
- Rennes – 18 Goals
- Reims – 22 Goals
Highest Goals Conceded by Team:
- Bordeaux – 43 Goals
- St-Etienne – 40 Goals
- Metz – 39 Goals
- Clermont Foot – 32 Goals
- Lorient – 31 Goals
Highest Goals Scored by Player:
- Jonathan David – 12 Goals
- Wissam Ben Yedder – 10 Goals
- Gaetan Laborde – 9 Goals
- Kylian Mbappe – 9 Goals
- Ludovic Ajorque – 9 Goals
- Mohamed Bayo – 9 Goals
- Martin Terrier – 9 Goals
Highest Assists by Player:
- Kylian Mbappe – 8
- Dimitri Payet – 7
- Jonathan Clauss – 7
- Moses Simon – 6
- Teji Tedy Savanier – 6
- Yacine Adli – 6
Highest Saves by Goalkeeper:
- Anthony Lopes – 67
- Benoit Costil – 61
- Gauthier Gallon – 60
- Alban Lafont – 56
- Jonas Omlin – 52
Highest Yellow Cards:
- Andrew Gravillon – 7 yellow, 2 red cards.
- Dylan Bronn – 7
- Alexander Djiku – 6
- Burak Yilmaz – 6
- Facundo Medina – 6
Here is the official source for the Ligue 1 stats.
Ligue 1 2021-22 Predictions:
PSG will see themselves retaining Ligue 1 title easily, probably in March. Fighting for the 2nd and 3rd will be fierce this season. Last season’s top-four finishers Lyon and Lille are expected to miss the Champions League qualification spot in the second half of the season. AS Monaco are in good rhythm lately with impressive last few weeks. They are expected to continue their resurgence and secure the 2nd spot and Marseille are expected to secure the last and third spot of the Champions League qualification.
It will be a sad day in French football when St-Etienne get relegated to Ligue 2. They are just 5 points off the safe zone but need to spend big in the winter window for sure. Troyes, Clermont Foot, Bordeaux, Metz, and Lorient will be fighting for each and every point in the second half of the season to remain in the Ligue 1.
Ligue 1 2021-22 Predicted Top-6:
- PSG
- Monaco
- Marseille
- Rennes
- Nice
- Lille
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