The 2021-22 Ligue 1 campaign has come to an end with the French giants, clinching their eighth title in 10 years, while Marseille and AS Monaco completed the top three to earn their Champions League spots. Our sportsbook is offering a great range of betting markets and props for the top European soccer leagues.
PSG: League is not Enough
Bayern Munich’s 10th straight Bundesliga championship is a record among Europe’s top five leagues, Without a doubt, this has been a season of disappointment for Paris Saint-Germain. They would have given anything to finally break their Champions League curse, but that was not to be as Real Madrid knocked them out of the Round of 16. With no spot in the Coupe de France final either, PSG’s season is effectively over already, so this is a good time to look back at it.
After creating a superteam last summer, bringing the likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes and paying $95m in transfer fees, the team was able to walk away with the Ligue 1 title without breaking a sweat. In fact, they never ceded the top spot after claiming it on the third matchday. Having the best trio in the world with Messi, Kyle Mbappe and Neymar, PSG’s main objective was winning the Champions League.
Mauricio Pochettino has been at PSG for several seasons but this season alone has put mounting pressure on his shoulders due to the club’s failure and elimination from the UEFA Champions League. He is set to leave French giants PSG just a day after winning his first Ligue 1 title. In terms of online betting, PSG was only reliable on home soil where they dropped just six points from a possible 57.
The saga surrounding Mbappé’s future has ended. The battle to sign the world’s best young player produced dueling offers worth more than $200 million. Mbappe picked the one that will keep him in Paris for the next three seasons, making him the most expensive player in the history of the game.
European Competitions
With just one round before the end of the season, second-place Monaco lead third-place Marseille on goal difference. In the French top-flight league, only the league runners-up qualify for the Champions League Group Stage directly. Third place will have to go into the qualifying rounds, while fourth place will have to settle for the Europa League.
Marseille clinched automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League Group Stage on the final night of the French Ligue 1 season. Marseille fulfilled their part of the bargain as they crushed Strasbourg 4-0 at a packed Velodrome. Brazilian international Gerson scored twice on either side of a Cengiz Under goal before Cedric Bakambu wrapped up the victory with the final goal of the game.
Monaco had been in mid-table for at least 15 rounds before surging into contention on a run of nine consecutive victories and they looked set to make it 10 in a row as they came from behind in Lens to lead 2-1. They failed to maintain the lead, conceding the equalizer in the last minute of the match. AS Monaco was the team to bet on during the final months of the season and their soccer odds were pure value.
Rennes will go into the Europa League Group Stage after they clinched fourth place, coming from behind twice to draw 2-2 at Lille. Nice earned a Conference League spot after coming from two goals down to win 3-2 away at Reims as Andy Delort scored a late hat trick, his three goals coming in the space of eight minutes.
Relegation Battle
At the bottom, six-time champion Bordeaux’s relegation to Ligue 2 was confirmed despite a 4-2 win at Brest as their unbroken 30-year stay in the elite comes to an end. Metz joined them in dropping down to the second tier after they got destroyed on the final day of the season, losing 5-0 to PSG as Mbappe scored a hat trick and Neymar and Angel di Maria also found the back of the net.
St. Etienne kicked off the final round in the bottom two but came from behind to draw 1-1 at Nantes, leapfrogging Metz and securing the playoff place. The former European Cup finalists will now face Ligue 2 club Auxerre in a two-legged playoff to decide who plays in the top tier next season. They were our favorite team to bet against and include in our soccer picks and parlays.
Lille: From Hero to Zero
The 2020-21 Ligue 1 champions, Lille finished 10th in the standings. They will be in big trouble next season unless they have a productive summer. Their decline started last year after surprisingly ending PSG’s domination. Boubakary Soumare and Mike Maignan were first out the door, followed by manager Christophe Galtier.
Soumare wanted to play in the Premier League for Leicester City, Maignan was attracted by the opportunity of representing AC Milan, crowned Serie A champions. And, after years of financial scratching at Lille and St. Etienne, Galtier left for Nice where he was given substantial backing in the transfer window.
Fonte, Xeka, and Yilmaz are out of contract in the summer. Renato Sanches appears on the verge of a move abroad, as does Jonathan David, even if his poor form may have reduced his price tag. They must bring at least 10 new players in order to compete with the big teams for a top-three finish.
