The Ligue 1 title race may have had a predictable conclusion but it was by far the most exciting of all Europe’s top five leagues.
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In a season which saw six different teams lead the table, with eight matches to go the standings read: Paris Saint-Germain – 59 points, Lyon – 58 and Marseille 57.
In the end, PSG were worthy winners, but Laurent Blanc’s all-powerful juggernaut hadn’t actually got their noses in front until that moment.
The defending champions sealed a third title on the bounce with nine straight wins but they found an admirable adversary in Lyon who represented an interesting paradox in French football.
Lyon were once the big spenders in Ligue 1, lavishing millions throughout the 2000s in winning seven of the decades 10 championships, but it wasn’t sustainable and when the money dried up, a change of approach from president Jean-Michel Aulas has seen them work their way to the top in a different manner.
Each week, Hubert Fournier – who replaced Remi Garde last May – would regularly field 7-8 academy graduates in his starting XI and the only paid-for player actually in his squad was perennial substitute Arnold Mvuemba.
Alexandre Lacazette and Nabil Fekir became household names, while the likes of Anthony Lopes, Samuel Umtiti and Corentin Tolisso also enjoyed breakout seasons.
and Player of the Year: @OL‘s ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE @LacazetteAlex pic.twitter.com/drpzotVWyA
— FFW (@FrenchFtWeekly) May 28, 2015
In the end, Fournier’s men ran out of steam, but for a side who finished fifth – 28 points behind PSG – the season before, to top the table for 11 weeks and close that gap to eight was a fine achievement.
While Lyon enjoyed their best phase in the middle part of the season, PSG were primed for a strong finish and, indeed, despite juggling two domestic cup commitments and the Champions League, Blanc’s side got the job done.
An injury-plagued Zlatan Ibrahimovic had his ‘worst’ nine months at the club since arriving from AC Milan but still managed 19 in 24 games in the league with Edinson Cavani adding a further 18.
With Marco Verratti pulling the strings in midfield, the energy of Blaise Matuidi and Thiago Silva doing the defensive work of two men, following David Luiz’s arrival, PSG’s core was just too strong for their rivals to break.
Marco Verratti: Completed at least 512 more passes (2652) than any other player in Ligue 1 this season #PSG pic.twitter.com/i1r5oi0f34
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) June 2, 2015
Slipping to fourth at the start of January, Blanc looked set for the chop but you’d think a domestic quadruple of league, Super Cup, Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue should be enough to keep him in a job over the summer.
As consistent as PSG proved down the home stretch, Marseille were equally as inconsistent and combustible as their charismatic coach Marcelo Bielsa.
Marseille set the early pace and were league leaders from the end of September up to the winter break. In true Bielsa fashion, though, Marseille’s swashbuckling style had a limited shelf-life and where they where once sweeping all-comers aside they were soon conceding five goals at home to Lorient and three to Caen, dropping points to sides in the bottom half of the table.
It hit them hard, as a season in which the top three looked a certainity ahead of the second half eventually saw them finish fourth and out of the Champions League spots.
That place was taken by Monaco, who under Leonardo Jardim impressed in a different way finishing the season with the best defensive record in the league with goalkeeper Danijel Subasic claiming a remarkable 20 clean sheers.
Like at Lyon, Jardim also helped bring through a raft of impressive young talent with Anthony Martial, Fabinho, Wallace and Bernardo Silva bringing scouts flocking to the Stade Louis II.
St Etienne threatened to break into the elite but a lack of a consistent goal threat saw them fall just short.
Bordeaux’s strong finish – two defeats in 17 – while moving into the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux gives them hope for next season while the likes of Rennes and Nice – who beat Guingamp 7-2 with Carlos Eduardo scoring five – performed admirably on tight budgets.
At the bottom, Evian, Metz and Lens occupied the last three spots for almost the entire second half of the season with the only doubt being the order in which they’d be relegated.
