Your Guide to the 2017/18 Ligue 1 Season Get French Football News a Note from Chief Features Writer, Eric Devin
Your Guide to the 2017/18 Ligue 1 Season Get French Football News A Note from Chief Features Writer, Eric Devin: So often the figure of fun in the recent past, as a product of Paris Saint-Germain’s financial hegemony, Ligue 1 seemed to have gained a measure of respect last season. Monaco’s performance in the Champions’ League in combination with their league title put lie to the impression that football in France was a monopoly, while Nice quietly had their best season in forty years under Lucien Favre. Even Lyon, once themselves the league’s perceived flat track bully, impressed, beating Roma and Besiktas on their way to the Europa League semifinal. Further down the table, Bastia gave the league an unnecessary black eye, but there were also pleasant surprises as well. Antoine Kombouaré and Pascal Dupraz had Guingamp and Toulouse scrapping at the fringes of the top six for most of the early season, while Nantes’ Sergio Conceição had Les Canaris flying high after his appointment. The league’s reputation for producing young talent continued unabated as well, with Kylian Mbappé, Ismaila Sarr and Malang Sarr all impressing before their twentieth birthdays. All told, 2016-17 was a strong season in France, even with Paris Saint-Germain’s embarrassing Champions’ League exit. This summer has seen the inevitable exodus of players, with Lyon and Monaco both losing several key components, but a surprising number of talents have chosen to stay in France, including Ismaila Sarr, (Metz to Rennes), Enzo Crivelli (Bordeaux to Angers) and Nicolas Pepe (Angers to Lille).
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