Olympique de Marseille are now certain they won’t finish lower than third in the Ligue 1 standings, thanks to bitter rivals Olympique Lyonnais.
Les Gones‘ comeback 3-1 home win against fourth-placed Monaco on Friday has mathematically secured a podium finish for Les Phocéens, which secures their place in next season’s UEFA Champions League. Whether they must go through the play-offs or go directly into the group is dependent on their ability to catch second-placed Lens in these final games.
Alexandre Lacazette, Maxence Caqueret and Rayan Cherki found the back of the net to cancel Wissam Ben Yedder’s opener from the spot. Seventh-placed Lyon have maintained their hopes to secure European football for next season and put the pressure on Rennes and Lille in the fight to qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League.
However, tonight’s loss is bad news for Monaco. With 65 points and only two games to play, the Philippe Clément-led side can no longer overtake Marseille’s 73 points tally, whilst their fourth place is now in serious jeopardy with Lille and Rennes breathing down their neck. Les Dogues will face Marseille, the side with the best away record in the league, on Saturday night at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Rennes will travel to Ligue 2-bound Ajaccio on Sunday. Should Rennes were to beat the Corsican side, they will have the opportunity to leapfrog Les Monégasques when hosting them on matchday 37.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
