Top Athletic Performances of the 2024-25 Ligue 1 Season

Pushing the Limits in the North

LOSC racked up the miles this season. Under Bruno Genesio, Lille delivered an impressive physical performance, averaging 113.57 km per match—the highest average in the 2024–25 Ligue 1 McDonald’s season. Not even regional rivals RC Lens could match it. Despite their nonstop energy, Lens finished second in this category with an average of 112.02 km per match.

Praised this season for their athleticism—especially the intensity of their pressing and counter-pressing—PSG look like a completely different side since Luis Enrique took over. The Parisians rounded out the top three in this category with 111.99 km covered per match.

LOSC cemented its dominance by setting the season record for the longest distance covered in a single match: 123.19 km against RC Strasbourg Alsace on January 25. That game also produced the record for combined distance by two teams in one match, totaling 244.7 km.

At the other end of the rankings, AJ Auxerre and Montpellier HSC were the only two teams to average fewer than 106.5 km per game. Interestingly, Olympique de Marseille (109.01 km per match) and AS Monaco (108.68 km per match) both finished on the podium in the Ligue 1 McDonald’s table, despite ranking just 15th and 16th, respectively in average distance covered.

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LOSC and RC Lens Neck and Neck in High-Intensity Runs

LOSC and RC Lens are closely matched when it comes to high-intensity running. But this time, it’s the club from Artois that edges ahead, averaging 7,177 meters of high-intensity distance per match. Lille are right behind their rivals with 7,150 meters per game. However, they can take pride in setting the season record: 8,851 meters in a single match, achieved against Strasbourg — the longest high-intensity distance recorded in one game. No other team crossed the 7,000-meter mark, with Rennes taking third place at 6,976 meters per game.

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Strasbourg in Sprint Mode

In terms of explosive efforts, RC Strasbourg Alsace and its young squad led Ligue 1 McDonald’s during the 2024/25 campaign. Strasbourg averaged 2,591 meters in sprinting distance per match, slightly ahead of AS Monaco’s 2,507 meters.

Rennes, fourth with 2,462 meters, set the single-game sprinting record with 3,832 meters against Lyon on August 18.

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Monaco, though, took the lead in the number of sprints per match, averaging 154 — just above Strasbourg’s 151. Still, Strasbourg holds the season record for most sprints in a single match with 211 against Lille on January 25. Meanwhile, Monaco were involved in the match with the most total sprints: their December 18 clash with PSG saw 405 sprints.

OGC Nice rank third in both sprints per match (149) and average sprinting distance per game (2,496 meters).

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Douglas Augusto and Adrien Thomasson: Ligue 1’s Marathon Men

Since joining FC Nantes in August 2023, Douglas Augusto has been a vital piece in midfield. The Brazilian stood out for Nantes and across the league, leading Ligue 1 McDonald’s with an average of 11.14 kilometers covered per match. He topped a podium that includes Nice’s Hicham Boudaoui (10.97 km) and Lille’s Benjamin André (10.937 km). Of the top 10, only one player wasn’t a central or box-to-box midfielder — Brest right back Kenny Lala, who ranked 10th with 10.53 km.

Lens’ Adrien Thomasson, sixth with 10.88 km per match, produced several standout athletic displays this season. He set the single-match record with 13.67 km covered against Reims on April 11 — one of four Top 10 performances he recorded. Thomasson was also the only player to surpass 350 km over the season, totaling 358 km.

As for Augusto, his top outing came against Le Havre on November 24, when he ran 13.5 km.

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Thomasson didn’t just run far — he did so at pace. The former Strasbourg midfielder averaged 1,250 meters per match at high intensity, second in the league behind Rennes’ tireless Adrien Truffert (1,397 m). Still, the top individual performance in this category belongs to Thomasson, who logged 1,934 meters at high intensity against Montpellier on January 31.

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Emanuel Emegha: Ligue 1’s Fastest Player

Emanuel Emegha lit up Ligue 1 McDonald’s with his speed. Clocked at 37.72 km/h, the tall Strasbourg striker was the fastest player in the league — and the only one to break the 37 km/h barrier in 2024/25. Marseille’s Luis Henrique came close, reaching 36.98 km/h, while Toulouse’s Shavy Babicka rounded out the podium at 36.62 km/h.

The only defender in the top five, former Lens man Abdukodir Khusanov, hit 36.48 km/h early in the season. He finished ahead of three fullbacks: PSG’s Nuno Mendes (36.28 km/h), Strasbourg’s Diego Moreira (36.20 km/h), and PSG’s Achraf Hakimi (36.18 km/h).

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Emegha didn’t just top the speed chart — he also led the league in sprint distance per match, averaging 461.98 meters. Rennes’ Truffert followed with 416.73 meters per game.

Hakimi, sixth in this category (359.82 m), set the single-match sprinting record with 777.3 meters against AS Saint-Etienne on January 12. Emegha wasn’t far behind, with 740 meters against Lille on January 25 — the same match where he racked up a league-best 43 sprints.

Alongside Hakimi and Emegha, only Moreira and Monaco’s Aleksandr Golovin also topped 700 meters in a single match this season.

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