PSG smashed their closest challengers 7-1 to win the Ligue 1 title but they need some new ideas to progress in EuropeBy Adam White and Eric Devin for Get French Football NewsFew clubs could canter to a treble and end the season disappointed, but Paris …
• Real beat Real Socieded 5-2; second-placed Atlético beat Málaga• Robert Lewandowski equals record as Bayern go 18 points clearCristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid moved into third place following a 5-2 thumping of Real Sociedad at the …
Two clubs hothousing French youth in the shadow of PSG’s billions go head to head on Sunday night in an enthralling race for the second automatic Champions League placeResist the temptation to scoff on hearing that Sunday’s showdown between Monaco and …
• Forward moves to Ligue 1 despite interest from Juventus• Pellegri becomes the second most expensive 16-year-old in historyPietro Pellegri has become the second most expensive 16-year-old in history after completing his move from Geona to Monaco for a…
• Mauricio Pellegrino getting to spend money from Van Dijk sale• Saints also keen on winger Quincy Promes at Spartak MoscowSouthampton have agreed a fee of €22m (£19.1m) with Monaco for the Argentinian striker Guido Carrillo and are confident of comple…
Bordeaux endured an awful run either side of Christmas but their young forward has remained a bright spark throughoutBy Adam White and Eric Devin for Get French Football NewsGoats are becoming a common sight in French football. Two seasons ago Marseill…
The Monaco and France midfielder has already turned down a €100m move to Arsenal but he cannot avoid attention from Premier League clubs much longerBy Adam White for Get French Football News, of the Guardian Sport NetworkThomas Lemar, a Caen player at …
Paris Saint-Germain go into the second half of the season with a commanding lead in Ligue 1 but Monaco, Marseille and Lyon are all fighting to competeBy Adam White and Eric Devin for Get French Football NewsLigue 1 has been rightly criticised for a lac…
Paris Saint-Germain can waltz through domestic fixtures, but their selfish culture of player power will not cut it in the latter stages of the Champions LeagueBy Adam White and Eric Devin for Get French Football News“The protagonists are the players.” …
Six years ago ago Strasbourg were playing in the fifth tier of French football. On Saturday they beat Paris Saint-GermainBy Adam White and Eric Devin for Get French Football NewsMonaco and Lyon picked up somewhat lucky wins to keep the battle for the C…
• Emenalo describes Monaco as the ‘right choice’ after leaving Stamford Bridge• Emenalo to work under the club’s vice-president Vadim VasilyevMonaco have announced the appointment of the former Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo as their sporti…
• Madrid forward scores his 18th Champions League goal of 2017• Napoli keep alive hopes of Champions League progressCristiano Ronaldo set another Champions League record as the holders Real Madrid sealed their place in the knockout stages with a 6-0 wi…
Two years ago Amiens were playing to sparse crowds in France’s unglamorous third division. On Friday they held their own against Ligue 1 champions MonacoBy Adam White and Eric Devin for Get French Football NewsAt first glance, Amiens do not seem equipp…
Keita Baldé has scored twice and laid on two assists in his last four games for Monaco, showing there is life after Kylian Mbappé for the Ligue 1 championsBy Adam White and Eric Devin for Get French Football NewsKeita Baldé Diao, the Senegalese forward…
Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco will battle for the title, leaving five clubs to fight for the third Champions League place on offer in the division
By Adam White and Eric Devin for Get French Football News
Marseille’s 4-2 win at Nice was a somewhat calamitous affair, riddled with poor defending and punctuated by the midfielder Luiz Gustavo’s sending off. The intensity, only to be expected for one of Ligue 1’s bigger rivalries, was increased by crowd trouble during the match, including fans brawling in the stands and objects being thrown on to the pitch. None of this is anything new in France, particularly in a derby match, but the result, which lifted Marseille into third place, is perhaps more important than the circumstances of the match. Not, as one might have hoped in looking at the league table, as a validation of the Marseille owner Frank McCourt’s “Champions Project” but as a clear indictment of the paucity of – if not quality – consistency in Ligue 1 this season.
Right behind Marseille, with their clutch of high-profile, albeit ageing, names, sit Nantes and Caen, a pair of clubs whose summer windows featured a distinct lack of recognisable names. This is not an affront to either of those sides; Nantes’ defensive organisation under Claudio Ranieri, combined with the class of Ciprian Tatarusanu in goal, have allowed them to be consistently stubborn opponents, allowing only two goals in their last seven matches. Caen have taken that edict even further, a somewhat surprising turn, given how open the manager Patrice Garande’s sides usually are, winning five of six behind the league’s best defence. Both have also been helped by the fixture computer and one would do well to recall Angers’ fine start to the 2015-16 season as proof of the sustainability of these sorts of teams in the division.
• Portuguese on target twice in 150th European club match in 3-1 win
• Wissam Ben Yedder is first Sevilla player to hit hat-trick in European game
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in his 150th European club match as Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund for the first time in Germany. His goals wrapped up a 3-1 win after Gareth Bale had put them ahead with a superb volley in the 18th minute.
Ronaldo doubled Real’s lead before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pulled a goal back in the 54th minute but the Portuguese international confirmed the holders’ victory when he fired past Dortmund’s keeper Roman Buerki in the 79th minute.
The form guide and team news for Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid, Monaco v Porto, PSG v Bayern and Atlético v Chelsea
By Martin Laurence for WhoScored?, part of the Guardian Sport Network
A regular Champions League fixture nowadays, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid go into Tuesday’s encounter under very different circumstances, despite both winning at the weekend. Dortmund are top of the Bundesliga, having scored 19 goals in six games, but they are still looking for their first point in the Champions League after their defeat to Tottenham at Wembley. Real Madrid are top of the Champions League group following a comfortable win against Apoel but they are sixth in La Liga, seven points behind Barcelona after just six games.
Nice had a dire start to the season – including home and away Champions League defeats by Napoli – but they got back on track in style in their local derby
By Adam White and Eric Devin for Get French Football News
As the Champions League anthem blared at the Stadio San Paolo a month ago, a broad grin spread over Allan Saint-Maximin’s face. “In this moment, I was my younger self,” explained Nice’s new winger. “When I was small I played football on the beaches of French Guyana and I would sing the Champions League anthem.” Nice, seemingly, had reached their promised land. After some shrewd coaching and astute transfer business, a stunning 2016-17 campaign had brought them to the brink of the Champions League proper.
However, after an early season collapse in Ligue 1 and a difficult transfer window, it seemed as if Nice, like Saint-Maximin, were merely dreaming of a Champions League future. They will not be competing in the group stage this week, having been outclassed by Napoli over two legs in the final qualifying round. But their 4-0 routing of champions Monaco in the Cote d’Azur derby this weekend suggests, with Jean Michaël Seri orchestrating proceedings once more, that last season’s third-place finish was no fluke.
