{"id":14729,"date":"2024-05-21T10:03:37","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T02:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/24hscore.org\/news\/?p=14729"},"modified":"2024-05-21T10:03:45","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T02:03:45","slug":"lille-and-brest-battle-for-champions-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/football\/lille-and-brest-battle-for-champions-league\/","title":{"rendered":"Lille and Brest Battle for Champions League Spot as Ligue 1 Season Concludes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fight for direct Champions League qualification between Lille and surprise contender Brest is the primary issue to be resolved in this weekend&#8217;s final games of the French Ligue 1 season. Paris Saint-Germain were confirmed as champions for a record-extending 12th time last month with three games to spare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Monaco have secured second place, confirming their return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2018\/19 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Behind them, it\u2019s a contest between Lille and Brest for the third automatic berth in Europe\u2019s elite club competition, with the loser having to settle for fourth place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Get real-time <a href=\"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/football\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">football scores<\/a> here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"qme\" dir=\"ltr\">?? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0WEtsPubMA\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/0WEtsPubMA<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Stade Brestois 29 (@SB29) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SB29\/status\/1791507927234199681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">May 17, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The expansion of the Champions League from 32 teams to 36 starting next season, where clubs will play eight games against different opponents in a single pool rather than in groups of four, has benefited France. Ligue 1 will now have three automatic spots in the competition instead of two, while the fourth-placed team will face two preliminary rounds early next season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lille sit third before hosting Nice, who are certain to finish fifth and will go into next season\u2019s Europa League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Lille, who reached the Champions League last-16 in 2022, have an extremely narrow lead over Brest &#8211; they are ahead only by a difference of two goals, with both clubs having scored the same number of goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Even though we are in third, we know we will have to win our last match against Nice, which will be very, very difficult,&#8221; said Lille coach Paulo Fonseca, who has been linked with moves to AC Milan and Marseille, after his team beat Nantes last weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Get real-time <a href=\"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/football\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">football scores<\/a> here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">?? Best player in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Ligue1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#Ligue1<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KMbappe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@KMbappe<\/a> is chosen best player of the 2023\/2024 season in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Ligue1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#Ligue1<\/a>! ?\u2764\ufe0f?<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Troph%C3%A9esUNFP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#Troph\u00e9esUNFP<\/a> \u2728 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vkh4CQ5S0T\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/vkh4CQ5S0T<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PSG_English\/status\/1790131529412137329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">May 13, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brest have never finished above eighth in the top flight before this season, and their guaranteed best-ever performance means they are preparing to play in Europe for the first time. They are currently seeking a venue to host their continental competition matches after UEFA informed them they could only open one stand if they chose to play at their own Stade Francis-Le Ble due to safety reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brest had been in the top three since late February but slipped to fourth last weekend after winning just once in five games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team managed by Eric Roy, who has been named Ligue 1&#8217;s coach of the year, finishes the season at Toulouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We will see if we go into the big one, or into the Europa League,&#8221; said Roy last week. &#8220;But in any case, what we have done already is exceptional.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Elsewhere, Lens, Lyon, and Marseille will compete to determine who finishes sixth and seventh. Sixth place guarantees a European spot<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">, but seventh will also qualify, provided PSG win the French Cup final and Lyon, their opponents, do not finish in the top six.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the bottom, Lorient appear certain to be relegated along with already-demoted Clermont, while Metz are poised to face a play-off against a second-tier team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Player to Watch: Kylian Mbappe<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mbappe is expected to make his last Ligue 1 appearance for PSG when they play Metz at the Stade Saint-Symphorien, the venue where he debuted for the club as an 18-year-old in September 2017. Assuming he plays\u2014Mbappe did not appear in Wednesday&#8217;s 2-1 win at Nice due to a hamstring issue\u2014the France captain is expected to join Real Madrid at the end of the campaign. PSG, having already secured the title, will likely avoid risking Mbappe&#8217;s fitness before the French Cup final against Lyon next weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Stats<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>7: Lorient stand on the verge of relegation after a run of seven consecutive defeats.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>43: Lyon have amassed 43 points from their last 19 Ligue 1 games, climbing from bottom in early December to the brink of European qualification. This is three points more than champions PSG over the same period.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>191: The number of goals scored by Mbappe in 246 career Ligue 1 appearances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The fight for direct Champions League qualification between Lille and surprise contender Brest is the primary issue to be resolved in this weekend&#8217;s final games of the French Ligue 1 season. Paris Saint-Germain were confirmed as champions for a record-extending 12th time last month with three games to spare. Monaco have secured second place, confirming&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":14750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","rank_math_description":"The main concern in this weekend's final games is Lille and surprise candidate Brest's fight for direct Champions League qualifying. ","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3939,36,2960,3903,2739,1555,4243,2842,3899,32],"class_list":["post-14729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-brest","tag-football","tag-lille","tag-lorient","tag-lyon","tag-marseille","tag-metz","tag-monaco","tag-nice","tag-psg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14729"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14751,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14729\/revisions\/14751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}