Ligue 1’s Wildest Multiplexes on Final Matchday

Last Sunday, one of the hottest teams in Ligue 1 McDonald's in RC Strasbourg fell short of punching their ticket to a European competition. Liam Rosenior lost 3-2 to Le Havre, who scored on a penalty kick to secure all three points to move from the playoff spot and have Stade de Reims fall into that position.

Another surprising result was RC Lens scoring four goals and recording a clean sheet against AS Monaco, who will compete in the UEFA Champions League next season. Despite these thrilling results, it falls short compared to the three multiplexes in the seasons 2007-2008, 2015-2016, and 2021-2022.

In the multiplex slot for Matchday 38 of the 2007-08 season, the Ligue 1 title was decided as Bordeaux still had an opportunity to win the league, but needed Olympique Lyonnais to lose, but that didn't happen. OL secured a AJ Auxerre, pushing them to 79 points while Bordeaux drew against RC Lens, leaving them with 75 points to end the season.

Olympique de Marseille secured a 4-3 win over RC Strasbourg in a high-scoring match that allowed them to ensure the three points needed to punch their ticket to the Champions League qualification stage.

That slot also proved dramatic for the fight to avoid relegation. PSG received help with Lens dropping points and scored a dramatic goal in the 83rd minute from Amara Diané to push them to 43 points. Toulouse also secured a late goal in the 75th minute from Pantxi Sirieix to edge 
Valenciennes FC, leaving Lens as the third team to head down to Ligue 2.

In 2015-2016, the fight for the Champions League spots was at the forefront of the multiplex on Matchday 38. It was a race between Monaco and Nice to grab that qualifying spot with Les Rouge et Blanc securing the 2-0 result over Montpellier to help them earn the three points needed to edge out Le Gym. Nice defeated Guingamp 3-2, but it was bittersweet knowing that Monaco didn't lose.

The battle not to drop to Ligue 2 was between Toulouse FC and Stade de Reims. Les Violets needed to win but found themselves in a challenging situation as Reims were having a convincing win over OL. Toulouse was down 2-1 at one point to Angers SCO, but two goals in the 78th and 80th minute (with Yann Bodiger scoring the game-winning goal) allowed for TFC to secure the win and survive while Reims were off to Ligue 2 despite the win.

In the 2021-22 season, the two clubs who would be directly relegated to Ligue 2 hadn't been determined yet, as one team still had a chance to finish in the relegation playoff spot and keep its hopes of staying in France’s top flight alive. Bordeaux, Saint-Étienne, and Metz were the three clubs vying not to be directly relegated.

Bordeaux secured a 4-2 win over Stade Brestois, but their goal differential doomed them to finishing in the bottom two. Metz had the unfortunate draw of playing PSG on Matchday 38, resulting in the Parisians winning 5-0.

With Metz losing and Bordeaux winning but having the worst goal differential of the three teams, Saint-Étienne needed a point to avoid a three-way tie with 31 points. Les Verts secured a 1-1 draw against FC Nantes with Romain Hamouma scoring in the 79th minute for the squad to secure the point needed to avoid direct relegation. 

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