Olympique Marseille won 4-0 at its guest Strasbourg to snatch second place in the French Ligue 1 from Monaco today, Saturday, and qualify for the group stage of the European Champions League directly with the end of the season, with Paris Saint-Germain announcing the survival of Kylian Mbappe in its ranks.
Monaco finished third after drawing 2-2 with its host Lens, to enter the third round of the Champions League qualifiers.
All eyes were on Parc des Princes, waiting for Mbappe to announce his continuation for three seasons with the league champion, who crushed his guest Metz 5-0 thanks to a hat-trick from the France striker, who topped the league’s top scorer list with 28 goals.
Metz was relegated to the second division with Bordeaux, who was eliminated from the top-flight after 30 years, winning 4-2 at its host Brest.
Saint-Etienne drew 1-1 with its host Nantes to snatch 18th place and go into the play-off against Auxerre, third in the second division.
Marseille finished the season with 71 points, 15 points behind Paris Saint-Germain, who won the title last month, and two points ahead of Monaco, who seemed to be on their way to finishing second until Ignacios Ganago equalized.
Lens advanced through Berchemslaw Frankowski, but Benoit Badiachel equalized for Monaco before his colleague Wissam Ben Yedder added the second goal after the break.
But Ganago’s goal ended Monaco’s hopes of a 10th consecutive win and second place.
Marseille qualified for the Champions League group stage thanks to Gerson’s double and two goals from Cengiz Under and Cedric Bakambu.
Stade Rennes finished the season in fourth place and will participate in the European League after drawing 2-2 with its host Lille.
Mbappe trilogy
In Paris, shortly after Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of Paris Saint-Germain, announced that Mbappe would stay until 2025, the French striker scored two early goals, and Neymar added his 100th goal with the French team, which advanced 3-0 by the 32nd minute.
Mbappe, 23, added a third goal five minutes after the break after a mistake by Metz’s defense, who completed the match with ten men after Aboubacar Traore was sent off for receiving a second warning at the hour of play.
Angel Di Maria scored in his last match with Paris Saint-Germain in the 68th minute.
“I would like to thank President Nasser Al-Khelaifi for his trust, understanding and patience,” Mbappe said.
“I thank all PSG fans in France and around the world for their support, especially in recent months.”