🇫🇷 Messi departs as PSG lose; Rennes and Lille in Europe; Auxerre drop | OneFootball

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Emily Wilson·3 June 2023

🇫🇷 Messi departs as PSG lose; Rennes and Lille in Europe; Auxerre drop

Article image:🇫🇷 Messi departs as PSG lose; Rennes and Lille in Europe; Auxerre drop

Ligue 1 action wrapped up on Saturday. Here is all you need to know about how things finished across France.


PSG lose as Messi says bye

Scorers: Ramos 16′, Mbappé 20′ (P); Gastien 24′, Zaffane 45+1, Kyei 63′


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Having already confirmed the title, this outing was more of a final goodbye for a few players.

Before kick-off, Lionel Messi confirmed his departure (which led to fans booing his name) while Sergio Ramos also communicated his decision to leave the capital.

Both players started the match, and the Spaniard opened the scoring with a trademark header before Kylian Mbappé extended his Golden Boot-winning lead (29) from the penalty spot.

It wouldn’t be all smiles, though,  as Johan Gastien pounced on a mistake between Marco Verratti and Gianluigi Donnarumma for 2-1 at the break.

And even while Clermont missed a penalty, they eventually pulled level through Mehdi Zaffane after a spill from the goalkeeper.

The visitor’s momentum carried over, too, as they went to put a third past the champions which means PSG finished only one point ahead of Lens.


Rennes and Lille reach Europe

Lens already secured second place and an automatic Champions League spot, while third-place Marseille will play in the Champions League playoff.

A bit lower down, Rennes claimed a spot in the Europa League after a hard-fought win over Brest. Benjamins Bourigeaud opened the scoring before two penalties either side things finished in favour of the visitors.

Meanwhile, Lille will play in the Europa Conference League after slipping to a draw against Troyes.

Bafodé Diakité opened the scoring for the visitors and initially had them a slot above in the standings, but Rony Lopes equalised for the hosts to send them back down.

Looking at the rest of the standings, Monaco, therefore, missed out altogether on Europe and finished sixth, with big-name club Lyon also out of the mix.


Auxerre relegated as Nantes survive

The drama continued at the end of the table, too, as the final spot to drop out of Ligue 1 was still available.

Nantes had to dig deep in order to survive and leapfrogged Auxerre who fell one point shy after being hammered by Lens at home.

The Coupe de France finalists managed to scrape by through the skin of their teeth as Ignatius Ganago was the hero in a 1-0 victory to secure safety in front of home fans.


Other results…

See you next season!