History: When Lille pipped PSG to the title in 2021

We take a look at the historic 2020-2021 season which saw Lille seal the Ligue 1 McDonald's title against all the odds.

Lille had completed the ultimate transformation. Only three years prior to their 2020 title win, Les Dogues had almost been relegated to the second tier, fast forward and they managed to pip Paris Saint-Germain to the Ligue 1 title under Christophe Galtier.

Les Dogues managed to fashion a squad at around a quarter of the budget of the side from the French capital, and it possessed several talents that had slipped through the PSG academy and into their hands. They made a huge impact with the Northern side.

A squad built on former PSG talents

No fewer than four former PSG players were key actors in Lille's title-winning season: goalkeeper Mike Maignan, midfielder Boubakary Soumaré, and strikers Jonathan Ikoné and Timothy Weah. Former Premier League veteran José Fonte was the bedrock at the back, along with future Premier League defender Sven Botman.

Of course let's not forget Burak Yilmaz, a 35-year-old Turkish striker who joined the club in the previous summer as a replacement for the departed Loic Rémy. He would notch 16 goals to help out Jonathan David, who had only just joined the club at the time but still scored 13 goals in his first season in Ligue 1 McDonald's. Using just 22 players - the least in the whole of the league that season - Lille had also reached the knockout stages of the Europa League.

Les Dogues would beat Les Parisiens at the Parc des Princes in April 2021 on their way to the title, with Jonathan David providing the decisive strike in a heated affair which saw both Neymar and Tiago Djalo sent off.

PSG had missed out on the title for the first time since the 2016-2017 season, lifting seven out of the last eight Ligue 1 McDonald's - subsequently winning the following three titles in 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024. 

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