Ligue 2 BKT: Dramatic promotion race goes to final day as Rodez & Red Star pile on pressure

The race for automatic promotion to Ligue 1 will go down to the final day after another dramatic evening in Ligue 2. While champions Troyes celebrated in style, Saint-Étienne suffered a damaging defeat at Rodez and Le Mans missed the opportunity to secure their return to the top flight.

Fresh from sealing promotion last weekend, Troyes officially crowned their title-winning campaign with a commanding 4-0 victory over Laval at a jubilant Stade de l’Aube. Antoine Mille opened the scoring early before Kandet Diawara struck twice and Martin Adeline added another as ESTAC moved onto 67 points.

Behind them, however, the fight for the second automatic promotion place remains completely open.

Le Mans entered the penultimate round knowing victory over Reims would guarantee a return to Ligue 1 for the first time since 2010. Instead, the Sarthe club were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw despite dominating large spells of the match.

The result keeps Le Mans in second place on 59 points, but their advantage has been cut to just two points heading into the final weekend.

Saint-Étienne missed the chance to capitalise as Philippe Montanier’s side fell to a third consecutive defeat, losing 2-1 away to Rodez. After setbacks against Bastia and Troyes, the pressure continues to mount on Les Verts at the worst possible moment of the season.

Rodez took full advantage on home soil and strengthened their own promotion hopes in the process. Irvin Cardona pulled one back for Saint-Étienne late on, but the visitors could not find an equaliser.

Tensions spilled over at full time as travelling supporters confronted the squad and coaching staff following another disappointing performance.

“The supporters are not happy and they are right, but we are going to continue giving everything, even if we have to go through the play-offs,” Cardona told beIN Sports after the match.

Saint-Étienne remain third on 57 points but are now level with Red Star, who continued their impressive run with a 3-1 victory away to Amiens.

The Paris-region side took advantage of Amiens’ defensive struggles to move level on points with ASSE and firmly into contention for automatic promotion. For Amiens, meanwhile, the defeat confirmed their relegation to the Championnat National.

Rodez occupy the final play-off position in fifth place with 55 points, while Reims remain in the hunt on 53 points after their valuable draw at Le Mans.

At the bottom of the table, Bastia kept their survival hopes alive thanks to a 1-0 away win over Guingamp. The Corsican side are now just one point behind Laval in the relegation play-off position ahead of a decisive final day.

Everything will therefore be on the line next weekend, with several decisive fixtures set to shape both promotion and relegation battles.

Ligue 2 final day fixtures to watch

Saint-Étienne vs Amiens
Bastia vs Le Mans
Annecy vs Rodez
Reims vs Pau
Red Star vs Montpellier

With automatic promotion, play-off places and survival all still undecided, Ligue 2 looks set for a dramatic conclusion next Saturday.