French Soccer League Predictions and Discussion Thread (Ligue 1)

[Jewan420]

Lens was able to top the Ligue One for a few weeks. I was very hopeful that they would end the long reign of PSG as champions of the French League. Sadly, they began to lose points to the extent that I knew they wouldn't top the League again. Even with PSG playing in Europe, the club had enough players to effectively compete for these trophies. I have moved my hopes to next season, let's see if a club can unseat the defending champions.

When Len was topping French Ligue 1 table at the beginning of this season I had the same hope as you that they would stop PSG dominance this season. But even with PSG not performing very well this season in French Ligue 1, Lens couldn't win the title because they don't have good squad depth because at some point their performance dropped and they started losing matches often which made PSG to flip them in French Ligue 1 table. This season was the best season for any team in French Ligue 1 to stop PSG reign but since no team was able to do, it's not possible next season.

Although Lens were not able to break PSG's dominance last season, they competed well at some points in the season. In fact, I think PSG did not dominate last season, but rather they secured the title through good competition. There is a difference between winning the title and dominating. PSG had to compete with Lens most of the time since the beginning of the season, Lens was even ahead in that competition for some time. But Lens' problem was the depth of the team, which is why they could not maintain the fight until the end. They got tired in the last 10 rounds of games, if the team had depth, this might not have happened. If a team can build depth in the team and maintain consistency in the upcoming season, then breaking PSG's dominance is not a big deal.

[Akbarkoe]

Paris Saint-Germain also knew that they couldn't beat Arsenal and couldn't even have the strength needed to close the game straight away and in fact they worked very intelligently on tactics, leading the team to exhaustion and then to penalties where they were much more lucid and won easily, this was the technique.

Without me taking sides with one of the teams in the final of the champions league both PSG and Arsenal, it's not a tactic, it is clear that we see PSG also failed to finish the match quickly, as well as Arsenal in this case could not finish it with 2 rounds and even 4 rounds until in the end it had to be a penalty shootout, we can conclude that both of them are very strong in terms of competing tactics, but a penalty match is not something like that, it goes back to the individual player's ability, sometimes also hockey when kicking, trying to deceive the goalkeeper who we don't know what's in his mind.

[Shineup]

Paris Saint-Germain also knew that they couldn't beat Arsenal and couldn't even have the strength needed to close the game straight away and in fact they worked very intelligently on tactics, leading the team to exhaustion and then to penalties where they were much more lucid and won easily, this was the technique.

Without me taking sides with one of the teams in the final of the champions league both PSG and Arsenal, it's not a tactic, it is clear that we see PSG also failed to finish the match quickly, as well as Arsenal in this case could not finish it with 2 rounds and even 4 rounds until in the end it had to be a penalty shootout, we can conclude that both of them are very strong in terms of competing tactics, but a penalty match is not something like that, it goes back to the individual player's ability, sometimes also hockey when kicking, trying to deceive the goalkeeper who we don't know what's in his mind.

I don't think I will agree with you on this one, to me Paris Saint Germain is the one to give all credit, like Manny team will lose that game after that one goal that Arsenal scored, just imagine after the one goal everyone of them quickly turned out to be a defenders, like eleven men defense, Paris Saint Germain played all they could to score but all to no avail, because we all know how strong Arsenal is when it comes to defending, trust me had it been Arsenal came out to play they game won't have lasted that long, but in all the well deserved winners actually won it.

[MarjorieZimmermanGinger]

Without me taking sides with one of the teams in the final of the champions league both PSG and Arsenal, it's not a tactic, it is clear that we see PSG also failed to finish the match quickly, as well as Arsenal in this case could not finish it with 2 rounds and even 4 rounds until in the end it had to be a penalty shootout, we can conclude that both of them are very strong in terms of competing tactics, but a penalty match is not something like that, it goes back to the individual player's ability, sometimes also hockey when kicking, trying to deceive the goalkeeper who we don't know what's in his mind.

Both teams gave their best, leading to the match going to penalties to determine a winner. In such circumstances, the players' ability to remain calm is crucial and mentality is often crucial in determining a player's readiness to take their penalty kicks. It must be admitted that PSG's players were far better prepared and their mentality was much better than Arsenal's which resulted in a successful penalty shootout victory for their second title. Arsenal's weakness in the match was their defensive approach which allowed PSG to dominate despite the difficulty of scoring. If Arsenal had played an open game, the result might have been different.

[Frankolala]

Without me taking sides with one of the teams in the final of the champions league both PSG and Arsenal, it's not a tactic, it is clear that we see PSG also failed to finish the match quickly, as well as Arsenal in this case could not finish it with 2 rounds and even 4 rounds until in the end it had to be a penalty shootout, we can conclude that both of them are very strong in terms of competing tactics, but a penalty match is not something like that, it goes back to the individual player's ability, sometimes also hockey when kicking, trying to deceive the goalkeeper who we don't know what's in his mind.

Both teams gave their best, leading to the match going to penalties to determine a winner. In such circumstances, the players' ability to remain calm is crucial and mentality is often crucial in determining a player's readiness to take their penalty kicks. It must be admitted that PSG's players were far better prepared and their mentality was much better than Arsenal's which resulted in a successful penalty shootout victory for their second title. Arsenal's weakness in the match was their defensive approach which allowed PSG to dominate despite the difficulty of scoring. If Arsenal had played an open game, the result might have been different.

Penalty is a game of luck so, I wouldn't agree with you that PSG prepared more than Arsenal in that penalty shoot out because Arsenal that chose to play a defensive game might hope to end the match in a penalty shootout for a worse case scenario. If Arsenal didn't play a defensive game, it would have been very easy for PSG to win them in 90 minutes.

[Akbarkoe]

Without me taking sides with one of the teams in the final of the champions league both PSG and Arsenal, it's not a tactic, it is clear that we see PSG also failed to finish the match quickly, as well as Arsenal in this case could not finish it with 2 rounds and even 4 rounds until in the end it had to be a penalty shootout, we can conclude that both of them are very strong in terms of competing tactics, but a penalty match is not something like that, it goes back to the individual player's ability, sometimes also hockey when kicking, trying to deceive the goalkeeper who we don't know what's in his mind.

I don't think I will agree with you on this one, to me Paris Saint Germain is the one to give all credit, like Manny team will lose that game after that one goal that Arsenal scored, just imagine after the one goal everyone of them quickly turned out to be a defenders, like eleven men defense, Paris Saint Germain played all they could to score but all to no avail, because we all know how strong Arsenal is when it comes to defending, trust me had it been Arsenal came out to play they game won't have lasted that long, but in all the well deserved winners actually won it.

For me both deserve praise, if we only take one side it's a sign that your fanaticism is so high in judgment that you only see one side in this case, so it will be difficult to discuss with someone who is so fanatical about one side, if you are an analyst, for you only the view from your point of view is the most correct.

Without me taking sides with one of the teams in the final of the champions league both PSG and Arsenal, it's not a tactic, it is clear that we see PSG also failed to finish the match quickly, as well as Arsenal in this case could not finish it with 2 rounds and even 4 rounds until in the end it had to be a penalty shootout, we can conclude that both of them are very strong in terms of competing tactics, but a penalty match is not something like that, it goes back to the individual player's ability, sometimes also hockey when kicking, trying to deceive the goalkeeper who we don't know what's in his mind.

Both teams gave their best, leading to the match going to penalties to determine a winner. In such circumstances, the players' ability to remain calm is crucial and mentality is often crucial in determining a player's readiness to take their penalty kicks. It must be admitted that PSG's players were far better prepared and their mentality was much better than Arsenal's which resulted in a successful penalty shootout victory for their second title. Arsenal's weakness in the match was their defensive approach which allowed PSG to dominate despite the difficulty of scoring. If Arsenal had played an open game, the result might have been different.

Of course the problem with Arsenal is that they are too confident in their defense so that is the weakness, therefore Arsenal must evaluate this strategy, in the previous match they managed to use this method but not for the final and with the strength of PSG.

[changaa]

Penalty is a game of luck so, I wouldn't agree with you that PSG prepared more than Arsenal in that penalty shoot out because Arsenal that chose to play a defensive game might hope to end the match in a penalty shootout for a worse case scenario. If Arsenal didn't play a defensive game, it would have been very easy for PSG to win them in 90 minutes.

the penalty was a stroke of luck, without a doubt, but we still have to give credit to a team that performed very well and did everything they could to take the match to another level, they still put Arsenal in difficulty and were able to win with tactical intelligence.

[Velvet78]

I wonder if any of important names will leave PSG this summer. Luis Enrique would like to keep them all to probably secure another title run in the Champions League. I'm not even talking about the Ligue 1.  

No team wants to be relegated bros @Velvet7, just like you, I'm also familiar with Estac Troyes, but not completely unaware of Le Mans, I clearly remember that they were still competing in Ligue 1 when I was in elementary school. Some of the good players I remember playing there were Anthony Le Tallec, Gervinho & Drogba.

Of course man. But I didn't want to put it that way. I mean their main objective will be not to relegate. Not like targeting top 10 and above etc..

Yeah it must be really in the distant past. I don't know about their current squad. But back then they had really great players!

[JoyceBTC]

Penalty is a game of luck so, I wouldn't agree with you that PSG prepared more than Arsenal in that penalty shoot out because Arsenal that chose to play a defensive game might hope to end the match in a penalty shootout for a worse case scenario. If Arsenal didn't play a defensive game, it would have been very easy for PSG to win them in 90 minutes.

the penalty was a stroke of luck, without a doubt, but we still have to give credit to a team that performed very well and did everything they could to take the match to another level, they still put Arsenal in difficulty and were able to win with tactical intelligence.

If Arsenal had won in the  penalties nobody would be remembering that PSG played well in the game all the praises would be given to Arsenal, it was a final game both teams gave their best to help their team and Arsenal was ahead of team because they scored first before PSG came back to equalize in the second half and the game ended in a 1:1 draw. Let us accept the fact that in overall performance PSG dominated the game but Arsenal was good enough for PSG not to have defeated them until they got to the penalty then PSG won, both teams deserved the win but PSG was the lucky one.

[HajiBagi]

Penalty is a game of luck so, I wouldn't agree with you that PSG prepared more than Arsenal in that penalty shoot out because Arsenal that chose to play a defensive game might hope to end the match in a penalty shootout for a worse case scenario. If Arsenal didn't play a defensive game, it would have been very easy for PSG to win them in 90 minutes.

the penalty was a stroke of luck, without a doubt, but we still have to give credit to a team that performed very well and did everything they could to take the match to another level, they still put Arsenal in difficulty and were able to win with tactical intelligence.

If Arsenal had won in the  penalties nobody would be remembering that PSG played well in the game all the praises would be given to Arsenal, it was a final game both teams gave their best to help their team and Arsenal was ahead of team because they scored first before PSG came back to equalize in the second half and the game ended in a 1:1 draw. Let us accept the fact that in overall performance PSG dominated the game but Arsenal was good enough for PSG not to have defeated them until they got to the penalty then PSG won, both teams deserved the win but PSG was the lucky one.

Let be honest with ourselves, If Arsenal win in the penalty shootout we will still praise PSG for their performance because they are the better team, PSG is the one desperate to score goal in the game and Arsenal is defending the 1-0 lead and that is a poor mentality for a club like Arsenal, no any team will do what they did in that final and even if they win the trophy people will still criticise them for not playing well because that is the same method they used to win Premier League.

PSG played as a team that wants to win the game that is why they won the trophy and we can also see what a defensive football can cause, if Arsenal come out to play and attack well they will score more goals and win the trophy because they have a good defenders that can help them to defend the game well, PSG players are beast when playing for their club.

[giorgione]

Of course the problem with Arsenal is that they are too confident in their defense so that is the weakness, therefore Arsenal must evaluate this strategy, in the previous match they managed to use this method but not for the final and with the strength of PSG.

Paris Saint-Germain definitely played cunningly, they didn't play in a completely open way, they waited for Arsenal and i have to say that at a certain point, there were some great opportunities to close out the game for them, so its a strategy that was very risky, but in the end it went well and in the end they managed to win, that's what counts.

[aipercoin]

I don't think I will agree with you on this one, to me Paris Saint Germain is the one to give all credit, like Manny team will lose that game after that one goal that Arsenal scored, just imagine after the one goal everyone of them quickly turned out to be a defenders, like eleven men defense, Paris Saint Germain played all they could to score but all to no avail, because we all know how strong Arsenal is when it comes to defending, trust me had it been Arsenal came out to play they game won't have lasted that long, but in all the well deserved winners actually won it.

Arsenal have shown that they are strong, that they have character and that they are able to defend very well, therefore i would like to tell you that if Paris Saint-Germain managed to beat them, they have some merit.
Maybe they are not purely footballing merits but just the mentality of a champion that makes the difference in everything.

[cande86]

Although Lens were not able to break PSG's dominance last season, they competed well at some points in the season. In fact, I think PSG did not dominate last season, but rather they secured the title through good competition. There is a difference between winning the title and dominating. PSG had to compete with Lens most of the time since the beginning of the season, Lens was even ahead in that competition for some time. But Lens' problem was the depth of the team, which is why they could not maintain the fight until the end. They got tired in the last 10 rounds of games, if the team had depth, this might not have happened. If a team can build depth in the team and maintain consistency in the upcoming season, then breaking PSG's dominance is not a big deal.

Lens, however, had a great championship and no one would have ever expected to have such a run from them, they put Paris Saint-Germain to the test and kept up the challenge, coming so close to winning against Paris Saint-Germain was a great thing for them, Lens would have won the championship if Paris Saint-Germain hadn't been there.

[martinom]

Both teams gave their best, leading to the match going to penalties to determine a winner. In such circumstances, the players' ability to remain calm is crucial and mentality is often crucial in determining a player's readiness to take their penalty kicks. It must be admitted that PSG's players were far better prepared and their mentality was much better than Arsenal's which resulted in a successful penalty shootout victory for their second title. Arsenal's weakness in the match was their defensive approach which allowed PSG to dominate despite the difficulty of scoring. If Arsenal had played an open game, the result might have been different.

always giving everything is essential to come out with your head held high from a match that everyone would have taken for granted, Paris Saint-Germain would have won, everyone said so, instead they suffered and played in a very extreme way, leading the Paris Saint-Germain team to penalties and this must give a lot of satisfaction to Arsenal.

[Ahli38]

Of course the problem with Arsenal is that they are too confident in their defense so that is the weakness, therefore Arsenal must evaluate this strategy, in the previous match they managed to use this method but not for the final and with the strength of PSG.

Paris Saint-Germain definitely played cunningly, they didn't play in a completely open way, they waited for Arsenal and i have to say that at a certain point, there were some great opportunities to close out the game for them, so its a strategy that was very risky, but in the end it went well and in the end they managed to win, that's what counts.

I personally don’t think PSG played cleverly in the last final against Arsenal. They seemed to struggle greatly to break through Arsenal’s defense in the first half, where they were unable to create a single big chance scoring opportunity. PSG was simply lucky to get the chance to take a penalty after Mosquera’s mistake by a hard physical challenge on Kvaratskhelia. If Arsenal not made that mistake they might have already won the Champions League. Look at how Arsenal’s play opened up after PSG’s equalizing goal. And I think Arsenal tried to play a bit more openly to regain the lead they had in the first half. But they unfortunately failed to regain the lead in the second half. In extra time Arsenal was still relatively successful in executing their full-defensive tactics. But in the penalty shootout Arsenal performed poorly by making two critical mistakes, where two Arsenal players were unable to accurately convert their penalty kicks. And I think it's a matter of individual ability.

[Mayor of ogba]

Penalty is a game of luck so, I wouldn't agree with you that PSG prepared more than Arsenal in that penalty shoot out because Arsenal that chose to play a defensive game might hope to end the match in a penalty shootout for a worse case scenario. If Arsenal didn't play a defensive game, it would have been very easy for PSG to win them in 90 minutes.

PSG has never lost any penalty shootout under Luis Enrique leadership, this shows that PSG knows how to win a match through a penalty shootout, and it's enough to agree that PSG prepared more than Arsenal in that penalty shootout even though penalty is a game of luck. Arsenal didn't play defensive game for their match against PSG to end in a penalty shootout, Arsenal played a defensive game because they believed they could win PSG with that. Arsenal almost achieve their plan but the penalty PSG had spoiled Arsenal's plan.

[$weetne$$]

Arsenal have shown that they are strong, that they have character and that they are able to defend very well, therefore i would like to tell you that if Paris Saint-Germain managed to beat them, they have some merit.
Maybe they are not purely footballing merits but just the mentality of a champion that makes the difference in everything.

Full time PSG did not get a chance to win Arsenal, they got the lucky penalty stroke that got them the title again, the fact still remains that Arsenal is a good team but PSG actually did had that firm wining mentality that got them the best part of the chase for the title. It does takes a great deal to maintain the wining mentality even when you face a very high chance of defeat, i will give it to PSG they actually did so well and they were just too dogged and were deserving of the victory.

[kennycryptoitalia]

Without me taking sides with one of the teams in the final of the champions league both PSG and Arsenal, it's not a tactic, it is clear that we see PSG also failed to finish the match quickly, as well as Arsenal in this case could not finish it with 2 rounds and even 4 rounds until in the end it had to be a penalty shootout, we can conclude that both of them are very strong in terms of competing tactics, but a penalty match is not something like that, it goes back to the individual player's ability, sometimes also hockey when kicking, trying to deceive the goalkeeper who we don't know what's in his mind.

In my opinion, Arsenal doesn't have much offensive ability, even in the Premier League championship they couldn't score all these goals.
Let's say that he is good at managing and defending the result, but in my opinion he needs a strong attacker. One of those with a goal instinct.

[jakdanyel]

I hope PSG holds onto players like Vitinha and Neves. Because both of their names have been going around in speculations lately. Otherwise they will lose lots of power even if only one of them leaves...

Luis Enrique has built a great game with these players being most important parts of it.    It's so much fun to watch them in the CL. They need to keep their chemistry as high as possible to keep this going.

[GiftedMAN]

Of course the problem with Arsenal is that they are too confident in their defense so that is the weakness, therefore Arsenal must evaluate this strategy, in the previous match they managed to use this method but not for the final and with the strength of PSG.

Paris Saint-Germain definitely played cunningly, they didn't play in a completely open way, they waited for Arsenal and i have to say that at a certain point, there were some great opportunities to close out the game for them, so its a strategy that was very risky, but in the end it went well and in the end they managed to win, that's what counts.

From the beginning of the game until the final minute there was never a time when that PSG waited for Arsenal you can go back and rewatch the match so that you don't get yourself confused. PSG played an open game it was Arsenal who had to go on defense just to avoid PSG from penetrating their box too often. The best strategy that saved Arsenal was their defense if they had played an open game with PSG the goal would have been more than 1 because PSG completely outplayed them.