French Soccer League Predictions and Discussion Thread (Ligue 1)

[ginsan]

I agree with the idea that PSG has tried to hire the best managers, and tried to buy the best players whenever they could afford, they even had a Neymar-Mbappe-Messi trio for two seasons as well, how many teams in the world could build a squad like that, it's insane.

I believe they are just having a bit of unlucky period and eventually they will win it. Look at City, they won so much before they finally ended up winning the UCL, it didn't happen on year one, they had to work up to that. I believe the moment they get someone decent, and wait for a few years, they will build a squad that will be easier to handle.

A manager can't build a good team in a single year or two, they will have to wait a few years and keep getting players during all those summers, and even maybe a few winters, and they can do better that way, that's the point. I believe this isn't going to be easy, but it can be done and I hope that people can make this work and see the difference.

You are right, many quality players who also have big name have joined psg in previous season but what happened they have not managed to win the UCL trophy. However, in the domestic league they are much stronger compared to other teams and it has even become their tradition to become champion.

PSG owners continue to make changes and I think they can become UCL champions someday. They need to be patient and continue to make better improvements in the future. Many things will happen and patience will show results. PSG also has stronger finances they can buy the players they are targeting but to become UCL champions they need a stronger mentality than what They have shown so far.

[baeva]

I'm still laughing at Cristiano Ronaldo's comment on a comparison between the Ligue 1 and Saudi league.    He thinks that the Saudi league is more quality than the Ligue 1. Can you believe that? Just how can it be true?

We don't even watch proper football being played in Saudi Arabia. Let's face this truth. The stars going there are playing very comfortably. Because they don't come across any team defending strongly. The teams there are nothing alike European teams. The thing they do is more like walking than running on the pitch. How can it be quality football? Just because you are bringing good names it doesn't mean the league quality increases highly. We need to see better football at the same time. Not even every star going there is playing impressively by the way.

Cristiano Ronaldo made such a comment because PSG is the only team in the French league to win the league title every single season but there is no chance for that to happen in the Saudi league. There are multiple competitions in the Saudi League who have won the title in different seasons. PSG may be strong in France league and they recruited many good quality players in the club and still have some known players in their club but no other club except PSG has such good quality players. 
In the Saudi League, many good quality players from Europe have been signed in the past few seasons, they are older but they have ruled Europe for a time, maybe Cristiano Ronaldo has commented that the popularity and quality of the Saudi League is more than the France League.

Either way I don't think he's right. But it's important to understand what he was talking about, if he was saying that PSG can't win there, then I think he's wrong, because PSG are head and shoulders above any team that plays in the Saudi league. Otherwise if he meant that there are no teams like that in his league then he is right, there is no consistent winner in the Saudi league

[Raflesia]

PSG owners continue to make changes and I think they can become UCL champions someday. They need to be patient and continue to make better improvements in the future. Many things will happen and patience will show results. PSG also has stronger finances they can buy the players they are targeting but to become UCL champions they need a stronger mentality than what They have shown so far.

Maybe it can but it still takes enough time for me especially with Enrique who wants to change the philosophy of PSG where previously they wanted to be known for their galacticos now changed with the transition of young players of course this takes time because this is a plan for the long term especially now when talking about the Champions League PSG's situation is still not possible even for now the chance to qualify for the play offs still seems small for them.

So in the end, when the target is the Champions League trophy, I think they still need a lot of extra effort to get it because after all, seeing from the current situation with tougher competition in the Champions League, PSG is actually like starting something from scratch for the transition phase that Enrique is doing now.

[GiftedMAN]

I'm still laughing at Cristiano Ronaldo's comment on a comparison between the Ligue 1 and Saudi league.    He thinks that the Saudi league is more quality than the Ligue 1. Can you believe that? Just how can it be true?

We don't even watch proper football being played in Saudi Arabia. Let's face this truth. The stars going there are playing very comfortably. Because they don't come across any team defending strongly. The teams there are nothing alike European teams. The thing they do is more like walking than running on the pitch. How can it be quality football? Just because you are bringing good names it doesn't mean the league quality increases highly. We need to see better football at the same time. Not even every star going there is playing impressively by the way.

Cristiano Ronaldo comment came as a result of how boring the French Ligue 1 has become base on the fact that Paris Saint German has succeeded in dominating this side of the league almost all season even when it's obvious that they're not in form or don't have those quality players in the team to help them lift the trophy and if you look at it in that perspective, This I believe the angle why Ronaldo commented like this when it seem there's no longer competition in the league as it supposed to be.

The comment of Cristiano Ronaldo didn't come as a surprise to me because he just said the truth and nothing but the truth, for years now PSG has been dominating the French Ligue1 and every season one can easily predict the winner of the league since no league is able to challenge PSG every season. The reason why Cristiano Ronaldo made the comment has already been well understood I believe looking at the performance of PSG this season one could possibly not like them to see any trophy if they were playing in a league like the English Premier League but here in the French Ligue1 they are going to be league winners by the end of the season and by next season they are likely winning the league again so Cristiano Ronaldo is right the league has no competition again.

[Pokapoka124]

Seko Fofana, who moved to the Arab League from Lens for 25 million Euro the previous summer, is back in the French league. Al-Nassr have agreed with Rennes for 20 million Euro for his sale. The player, who failed to contribute a goal or an assist in 13 games while on loan at Al-Ettifaq in the Arab League, is waiting to see how he will perform at Rennes. They usually keep the midfield crowded in their game plan. They added one more midfielder to the squad. The league is not going the way they wanted this season. Maybe this transfer will be good for them.

You are right. Seko fofana is indeed a good midfielder. A potential move back to the Ligue 1 with rennes who are  reportedly seeking his signature could be an opportunity for him to shine again in the French Ligue 1. Fofana's physicality, passing range, and ability to be able to contribute more effectively linking both the defense and the midfield makes him a sell rounded player.

[snipie]

while regarding the second half which is still running, Rennes managed to score one goal exactly 4 minutes after the second half started, so that the score difference became thin again. and I hope Nice can build attacks again and increase their advantage, to prevent Rennes from equalizing the position again.

Nice 3 - 2 Rennes.
Basically Nice score a goal and Rennes try to recover but with the third goal for Nice and the two goals difference, Rennes know well it will be hard to get the draw. They managed to reduce the gap by one goal in the second half but they failed to collect any point from Nice in their home.
Now Nice is fourth in the standings and waiting for the results of Lille and Lyon games to see if they will stay in that position or not.

[Weawant]

You are right. Seko fofana is indeed a good midfielder. A potential move back to the Ligue 1 with rennes who are  reportedly seeking his signature could be an opportunity for him to shine again in the French Ligue 1. Fofana's physicality, passing range, and ability to be able to contribute more effectively linking both the defense and the midfield makes him a sell rounded player.

I like that he's very productive in his present team and this cuts across him home country team and now that he's about to join the ligue 1it will for him give him that platform to thrive and even have more opportunities available to him since he's now on a platform that will expose him to bigger and more challenging leagues like the champions league,  he will even have the privilege to get to compete for the ligue 1 title too but then Rennes isn't  a regular champions league team so that opportunity may come few times.

[imamusma]

I agree with the idea that PSG has tried to hire the best managers, and tried to buy the best players whenever they could afford, they even had a Neymar-Mbappe-Messi trio for two seasons as well, how many teams in the world could build a squad like that, it's insane.

I believe they are just having a bit of unlucky period and eventually they will win it. Look at City, they won so much before they finally ended up winning the UCL, it didn't happen on year one, they had to work up to that. I believe the moment they get someone decent, and wait for a few years, they will build a squad that will be easier to handle.

A manager can't build a good team in a single year or two, they will have to wait a few years and keep getting players during all those summers, and even maybe a few winters, and they can do better that way, that's the point. I believe this isn't going to be easy, but it can be done and I hope that people can make this work and see the difference.

That's right, PSG should learn from Manchester City experience in winning the Champions League trophy. They have worked with Pep Guardiola for a long time, until they finally managed to win the trophy. In my opinion, Luis Enrique is one of the good managers, PSG should keep him, even though this season he again failed to present the trophy. Luis Enrique actually really needs some star players in the team, who can make a difference in match results, and facilitate their journey in the Champions League. Perhaps PSG will continue to strive to build a luxurious squad, which can bring them closer to winning the Champions League trophy for the first time in the club history.

[TelolettOm]

So in the end, when the target is the Champions League trophy, I think they still need a lot of extra effort to get it because after all, seeing from the current situation with tougher competition in the Champions League, PSG is actually like starting something from scratch for the transition phase that Enrique is doing now.

We will see how PSG will bring in top players who can really strengthen the club this season in the January transfer market. If not, then they should do it in the next summer. Because with their current squad, they are still top in French Ligue 1, but in the UCL, they are very far behind. No offense, this is a fact, PSG is indeed that bad in the UCL, whether in the future it can change or not, it depends on how Enrique and the entire squad will make their club later.

Nice 3 - 2 Rennes.
Basically Nice score a goal and Rennes try to recover but with the third goal for Nice and the two goals difference, Rennes know well it will be hard to get the draw.

Nice played quite effectively, but it is undeniable that Rennes also put up a difficult fight for Nice. Rennes was able to dominate the ball and their shots were also quite a lot. Unfortunately, once again, accuracy became their problem. And in the end, it was Nice who was able to optimize chance for more accurate shots.

Source: Nice vs Rennes

[ancafe]

We will see how PSG will bring in top players who can really strengthen the club this season in the January transfer market. If not, then they should do it in the next summer. Because with their current squad, they are still top in French Ligue 1, but in the UCL, they are very far behind. No offense, this is a fact, PSG is indeed that bad in the UCL, whether in the future it can change or not, it depends on how Enrique and the entire squad will make their club later.

Bringing in top players also does not guarantee PSG's ability in the Champions League because previously they also had top players in the squad but were also unable to compete in the Champions League. Team coaching may need to be fixed and they have to build a team like Manchester City did so that they slowly managed to become the best in the Champions League. Hoping practically for top players does not guarantee that PSG can achieve the title in the Champions League because the competition in the Champions League is different from Ligue 1.

Nice played quite effectively, but it is undeniable that Rennes also put up a difficult fight for Nice. Rennes was able to dominate the ball and their shots were also quite a lot. Unfortunately, once again, accuracy became their problem. And in the end, it was Nice who was able to optimize chance for more accurate shots.

Match statistics tend not to give satisfactory results for the dominant team because in the end whoever is able to take advantage of their few chances will win the match. This is an important lesson for Rennes and the victory obtained by Nice made them successfully occupy fourth place even though Lille and Lyon have not played their 16th match so Nice's position is still likely to be shifted.

[Raflesia]

So in the end, when the target is the Champions League trophy, I think they still need a lot of extra effort to get it because after all, seeing from the current situation with tougher competition in the Champions League, PSG is actually like starting something from scratch for the transition phase that Enrique is doing now.

We will see how PSG will bring in top players who can really strengthen the club this season in the January transfer market. If not, then they should do it in the next summer. Because with their current squad, they are still top in French Ligue 1, but in the UCL, they are very far behind. No offense, this is a fact, PSG is indeed that bad in the UCL, whether in the future it can change or not, it depends on how Enrique and the entire squad will make their club later.

As I said before, it's a transition that Enrique is trying to build where they're letting go of some of their aging stars but trying to do so with a new, younger squad especially considering the average age of PSG's current attackers are all young.
So in the end it's not going to be easy for the first season especially when their highly touted striker Mbappe leaves making the situation difficult because during PSG's play he was always the top goal scorer so when he leaves then tactically their goal productivity and their attacking power is weakened.

The benchmark is to try to qualify from the league phase for the Champions League for PSG because if this fails then I don't think Naser Al-Khelaifi will ever be satisfied with Enrique's leadership even though his intentions are good for the future project but with PSG's ambition of always wanting to look good in the Champions League then ultimately now all Enrique has to do is how do they stay in the play off zone for the Champions League because this could be a decisive situation for the future he will have at PSG.

[FanEagle]

To be fair PSG not doing great would have been Enrique's fault, but they are doing fine at the league, so I am not sure if it's anything of his issue, UCL is another topic, they are doing exceptionally terrible at the UCL games and that's something I do not understand, if they played as well as they did during the league, they would have better and easier chances to win, that would make more sense.

In any case, I feel like this is going to be fine, and not going to really hurt anything, Louis Enrique could be fired, that won't change anything and we are going to end up with nothing changing that much. Don't get me wrong, maybe they will do better next season, but so did Enrique last season, the point is that changing manager isn't the solution to their issues.

[Fuso.hp]

I don't think it's right to look for the fault in coach Enrique. The players' situation actually reveals the current position of the team. The players are not top-level players for the Champions League. Besides, they weren't successful in the Champions League when Messi, Neymar and Mbappé were there. In my opinion, Enrique is the best coach for Paris Saint-Germain in recent times. If they let him go, no one can guarantee that the coach who replaces him will be more successful.

Enrique has been with PSG for a very longtime and have been used to the team and now has been able to know most of his player all this years and so he's actually like the best for the team and then he is now even trying to get the team to a position that they have been wishing and one of his biggest drive is to win the champions league. people trying to blame him is almost normal for almost every one both fans and non fans because its been a norm that you always blame the coach for every fall of the player and the teams general performance.

Luis Enrique is used to all kinds of criticism, this is also common for other managers. PSG fans have high hopes for Luis Enrique, his experience in leading Barcelona to win the Champions League trophy, he should be able to repeat it with PSG again. In his second season with PSG, Luis Enrique seems unable to realize those high hopes, but it is very unfair to blame the manager entirely.

It is not easy to win the Champions League trophy if you have never won it before, it takes hard work, patience and great sacrifice to achieve it. The depth of the squad you have determines the size of the opportunity, but it is not a guarantee of achieving success. I think it's all about the right momentum, PSG must be at their best, and at the same time other favorite teams in the Champions League are experiencing a decline.

Luis Enrique took charge of PSG It was great news for the fans but after Luis Enrique took charge of PSG he did not buy a significant amount of players in the team that PSG fans can at least expect to do well in the Champions League. Currently PSG has formed a team that can only do well in local leagues but it is not possible to do well in tournaments like Champions League with this team. PSG fans still have to put their trust in Luis Enrique and wait until next season with the hope that their manager will sign quality players in the next transfer window and PSG will compete well in the Champions League.

Luis Enrique may face two hurdles when it comes to signing quality players.
The first hurdle is whether the club will give him financial freedom?  If the club gives him financial freedom, will the players he offers with that money want to come to PSG?

[Leviathan.007]

This is his own personal opinion but then it turns out people are taking it too deep, he's speaking form his own experience having played in different teams and leagues and across over various continents tooo, all of that put together probably have informed his reason for saying all of that that he did mentioned about the leagues and so for me i think what PSG would have done would have better been to trying to adjust buy implementing and making some adjustments to improve them generally and not trying to fight the statement so much.

PSG had the opportunity to dominate Ligue 1 and also achieve good results in the Champions League only because they spent a lot of money on transfers and they always had very strong players. And with the arrival of Enrique to the team, everything changed, they are trying to make PSG not a team consisting of stars, but a team Star. Maybe he will succeed before he is fired, but in this case there is a big risk that PSG can finish this Champions League in the group stage and I admit that in this case Enrique will be fired.

I don't think it's right to look for the fault in coach Enrique. The players' situation actually reveals the current position of the team. The players are not top-level players for the Champions League. Besides, they weren't successful in the Champions League when Messi, Neymar and Mbappé were there. In my opinion, Enrique is the best coach for Paris Saint-Germain in recent times. If they let him go, no one can guarantee that the coach who replaces him will be more successful.

Speaking about Mbappe the former player of PSG, they still want to find a replacement for this French superstar player however this cannot be easy for PSG because finding a player at this level to have a good performance like Mbappe won't be easy at all.
Since Salah is getting near to the end of his contract with Liverpool and he hasn't extended his contract yet, he is the player who linked to PSG to fill the place of Mbappe in this team. Considering the recent performance we saw from Salah, he was awesome and had an effective role in Liverpool which made PSG to think about hiring this player.
PSG is ready to sign a three-year contract with Salah as a free player and during these three years, Salah will get 24 million euros per year.

[Lida93]

To be fair PSG not doing great would have been Enrique's fault, but they are doing fine at the league, so I am not sure if it's anything of his issue, UCL is another topic, they are doing exceptionally terrible at the UCL games and that's something I do not understand, if they played as well as they did during the league, they would have better and easier chances to win, that would make more sense.

The champions league is not like any other leagues in Europe where you can easily have a smooth ride at winning the title. For the fact that you may be doing exceptionally well in your domestic league you can still not have same level of performance in the UCL, and that's exactly the case with PSG this season which a lot of fans are using to judge Enrique's quality and capability with the club. I think what Enrique needs is more time with the club so he can use the transfer window as an opportunity to bring in quality players to support the team and also putting PSG in front of the UCL competition by next season.

What I have observed over the years about PSG just like RMD is that they are always after already made superstar players who perhaps may have won major trophies in Europe including the UCL title. But this style of signing in players isn't favourable to PSG as it does with Real Madrid, and I absolutely think it's high time they look the other way round, by signing young stars with burning desire to make name and add honours to their name, perhaps that's what   Enrique can use to find success with PSG  order than doing things in the usual way.

 

[ITExpert]

while regarding the second half which is still running, Rennes managed to score one goal exactly 4 minutes after the second half started, so that the score difference became thin again. and I hope Nice can build attacks again and increase their advantage, to prevent Rennes from equalizing the position again.

Nice 3 - 2 Rennes.
Basically Nice score a goal and Rennes try to recover but with the third goal for Nice and the two goals difference, Rennes know well it will be hard to get the draw. They managed to reduce the gap by one goal in the second half but they failed to collect any point from Nice in their home.
Now Nice is fourth in the standings and waiting for the results of Lille and Lyon games to see if they will stay in that position or not.

A good match between Rennes and Nice has been interesting and both have scored good goals. I have seen their record where both teams have set their own records with similar performance. If you look at some matches, Rennes won 4 matches and Ness also won 4 matches but Ness played well in that match and scored 3 goals and the opponent team Rennes also played well but they lost by only one goal.This proves that they played well but could not draw the match due to pressure and one goal extra. If their matches are easy, then they will go above this position, if they are difficult, then it depends on their performance that they will maintain their position or not but I think they will increase their position because Nice is not strong enough to threaten them from their position.

[CageMabok]

Bringing in top players also does not guarantee PSG's ability in the Champions League because previously they also had top players in the squad but were also unable to compete in the Champions League. Team coaching may need to be fixed and they have to build a team like Manchester City did so that they slowly managed to become the best in the Champions League. Hoping practically for top players does not guarantee that PSG can achieve the title in the Champions League because the competition in the Champions League is different from Ligue 1.

If we look at the competition in each season, of course it cannot be denied that the Champions League still has a more difficult level of competition for any League so it is true as you said that PSG must have improvements in the way they train in addition to having top world players to support team performance to be better. Ligue 1 is still less competitive in terms of competition so PSG must be able to create differences in the way they play in order to be superior in the Champions League.

[bangjoe]

PSG owners continue to make changes and I think they can become UCL champions someday. They need to be patient and continue to make better improvements in the future. Many things will happen and patience will show results. PSG also has stronger finances they can buy the players they are targeting but to become UCL champions they need a stronger mentality than what They have shown so far.

Maybe it can but it still takes enough time for me especially with Enrique who wants to change the philosophy of PSG where previously they wanted to be known for their galacticos now changed with the transition of young players of course this takes time because this is a plan for the long term especially now when talking about the Champions League PSG's situation is still not possible even for now the chance to qualify for the play offs still seems small for them.

So in the end, when the target is the Champions League trophy, I think they still need a lot of extra effort to get it because after all, seeing from the current situation with tougher competition in the Champions League, PSG is actually like starting something from scratch for the transition phase that Enrique is doing now.

this is certainly difficult for PSG the current champions league is very tight and they are lacking in performance in the current champions league so they are on the verge of not qualifying for the play offs, Enrique is experimenting with changing the team very visionary but there are still many things that need to be considered and need to be learned and will receive impacts that may make them unstable in their performance, winning the champions league is very difficult for this season with.

This Transition Period will only be a great opportunity after they quickly change the team for the better but it seems that PSG is very difficult to keep up with the teams competing in the champions league, but league 1 they are definitely able to get it in my opinion.

[samuraijin]

I'm still laughing at Cristiano Ronaldo's comment on a comparison between the Ligue 1 and Saudi league.    He thinks that the Saudi league is more quality than the Ligue 1. Can you believe that? Just how can it be true?

We don't even watch proper football being played in Saudi Arabia. Let's face this truth. The stars going there are playing very comfortably. Because they don't come across any team defending strongly. The teams there are nothing alike European teams. The thing they do is more like walking than running on the pitch. How can it be quality football? Just because you are bringing good names it doesn't mean the league quality increases highly. We need to see better football at the same time. Not even every star going there is playing impressively by the way.

Cristiano Ronaldo comment came as a result of how boring the French Ligue 1 has become base on the fact that Paris Saint German has succeeded in dominating this side of the league almost all season even when it's obvious that they're not in form or don't have those quality players in the team to help them lift the trophy and if you look at it in that perspective, This I believe the angle why Ronaldo commented like this when it seem there's no longer competition in the league as it supposed to be.

The comment of Cristiano Ronaldo didn't come as a surprise to me because he just said the truth and nothing but the truth, for years now PSG has been dominating the French Ligue1 and every season one can easily predict the winner of the league since no league is able to challenge PSG every season. The reason why Cristiano Ronaldo made the comment has already been well understood I believe looking at the performance of PSG this season one could possibly not like them to see any trophy if they were playing in a league like the English Premier League but here in the French Ligue1 they are going to be league winners by the end of the season and by next season they are likely winning the league again so Cristiano Ronaldo is right the league has no competition again.

That's why the French League has not had many fans from the past until now, because the clubs there really can't compete with PSG which is known as the strongest and richest club, so it's impossible if PSG doesn't get the title in several seasons, it's only once a season and the next season they can win like it's just rolling, everything seems to have been planned, unlike the domestic leagues in Serie A, the Premier League, La Liga, all clubs compete to get the title and all competitions run well and are exciting to enjoy.

[Pandu Geddon]

That's why the French League has not had many fans from the past until now, because the clubs there really can't compete with PSG which is known as the strongest and richest club, so it's impossible if PSG doesn't get the title in several seasons, it's only once a season and the next season they can win like it's just rolling, everything seems to have been planned, unlike the domestic leagues in Serie A, the Premier League, La Liga, all clubs compete to get the title and all competitions run well and are exciting to enjoy.

However, we must realize that club competition in Ligue 1 is not as competitive as in other European leagues. There is a gap between clubs that makes other clubs lag behind PSG's dominance.
This also backfires on PSG because the competition in the domestic league is not that tight, it makes their ability to compete in the Champions League not that good.
We have seen how PSG is filled with stars in the past, but still, they cannot get the Champions League trophy. And this season it seems they are not much better. They will party in their hometown.