Lyon win tight championship race to claim fourth title

Olympique Lyonnais picked up their fourth Ligue 1 crown on the bounce with another typically assured campaign.

Paul Le Guen’s side led the championship from October to finish on 79 points, accumulating just three defeats all season. They ended comfortably ahead of LOSC Lille, who picked up a very positive second placed finish, with Monaco the other side to complete the podium.

The real race however, in an otherwise goal-shy season (just 2.17 a game on average) was the fact that just 13 points separated Rennes in 4th, and Caen in 18th spot. The gap between Lille and Lyon for example, had been 12. That meant that there were four teams competing for direct entry into the UEFA Cup while six were battling to avoid relegation on a frantic final day.

CHANGES

French football saw significant changes in the close season, though these were largely down to transfers pouring out of the league. The big move saw Didier Drogba, author of a fantastic sole season at Marseille, leave for Chelsea in a stunning 38 million euro deal. The English side, under the direction of European Cup-winning boss Jose Mourinho also bought Petr Cech from Rennes, while Djibril Cisse quit AJ Auxerre for Liverpool, and he was soon followed by Philippe Mexes who was picked up by Roma.

Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze left the capital for Manchester United, and creative midfielders Ludovic Giuly and Edmilson also left France for FC Barcelona.

To counter the flood of money entering Ligue 1, PSG put their faith in Jerome Rothen and Mario Yepes for a combined 20 million, while Lyon stepped up their domination in the market to convince Eric Abidal and Pierre Alain Frau to move to the Gerland.

SEASON SUMMARY

It was a season largely shorn of quality, with more than half of the teams changing managers during the campaign – including PSG and Marseille. There were only 2.17 goals a game scored on average, as French football began to develop the image of its teams preferring to play not to lose, rather to win.

This…

Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/lyon-win-tight-championship-race-to-claim-fourth-title-ligue-1-2004-05/791

Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)

Publish date : 2024-07-20 15:00:00

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