Paris St Germain remained unbeaten as they won their fourth straight Ligue 1 title in style on home turf after Saturday’s 1-0 win over Angers gave Luis Enrique’s side an unassailable lead in the French top-flight.
The victory, courtesy of a Desire Doue goal, moved PSG to 74 points with six rounds left. PSG are 24 points ahead of second-placed AS Monaco, who play later on Saturday but can reach only 71 points if they win all their remaining games.
The title is PSG’s 13th in history – a record in France – while it was their 11th since the 2012-13 season.
PSG captain Marquinhos, who joined the club in 2013, became the only player in history to win 10 Ligue 1 titles.
“It’s crazy, I’m really happy. Staying with a top team for so long is a real challenge. The titles will go down in history. Our ambition is to win everything,” the 30-year-old Brazilian told beIN Sports.
“It hurts when you don’t win the French championship, it’s happened to me twice. The team deserves to win.
“It’s in our DNA to give everything on the pitch, to have an aggressive philosophy, to get our shirts wet at every match, no matter who our opponents are. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve played in teams with that DNA.”
Although the first half was goalless, PSG utterly dominated possession and took 11 shots, with Goncalo Ramos taking nearly half of those, but the home side could not find the net.
But 10 minutes into the second half, PSG took the lead when January recruit Khvicha Kvaratskhelia floated a cross into the six-yard box and 19-year-old winger Doue connected with a volley at the far post for his fifth league goal of the season.
Luis Enrique then made a triple change, with this season’s top scorer Ousmane Dembele coming on, not only looking to increase his tally of 21 goals but also to get some minutes before their Champions League quarter-final against Aston Villa.
PSG could not double their advantage as the Angers defence stood strong, but that did not stop the home fans from chanting “We are the champions” even before the fulltime whistle had blown.
Luis Enrique has lost only two league games since taking over PSG at the start of the 2023-24 season, as the Spanish coach proved the team could succeed without big names such as Kylian Mbappe, who left for Real Madrid last year.
After the fulltime whistle, Luis Enrique was seen sharing a moment with Luis Campos, the man who helped him rebuild the squad, before players and staff grabbed the coach and threw him into the air during the celebrations.
REUTERS
