Ligue 1 2023 Season: PSG Become Champions Despite Injury Crisis    

Six 20-Goal Scorers in 2022-23

The Ligue 1 2023 season provided plenty of drama and excitement for viewers. Ahead of Ligue 1’s move from 20 to 18 teams, four teams went down to Ligue 2. As a result, the relegation race came down to the final day, and PSG also won the title on Matchday 37 of 38. With their 11th top-flight title, PSG have now won the French League more than any other team. There were also plenty of top-level goal scorers as six players reached the 20-goal threshold. We’ll look back at some of the highlights from the Ligue 1 season.

PSG Become Champions Despite Injury Crisis

Paris Saint-Germain had over half of their defenders sidelined due to injury in the season’s home stretch. Still, the Parisians took back-to-back Ligue 1 titles, beating out RC Lens by one point. With their championship, PSG have now won more Ligue 1 titles than any other team. While PSG disappointed in the Champions League once again, Christophe Galtier delivered a title in his first season.

Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi led a deadly PSG attack in the Ligue 1 2023 Season, which averaged nearly 2.5 goals per game. Neymar missed the home stretch of the season due to injury but contributed 13 goals and 11 assists in 20 matches.

Lens deserve an honorable mention for an excellent season. They conceded just 29 goals all season, which was the fewest in the league by a wide margin. Lens finished in second for the first time since 2002. Now, they’ll make their first Champions League appearance for over 20 years. Kevin Danso, Seko Fofana, and Lois Openda were key players for Lens in 2022-23

Marseille lost their last three matches to close the season but still qualified for the Champions League playoff. Third-placed Marseille managed the second-best road record in the league, at 12-3-4.

In a European race that came down to the final day, Rennes finished in fourth place. SRFC won their last four matches to clinch a Europa League berth. Coupe de France winners Toulouse will join Rennes in the competition in 2023-24. Lille ended the season one point behind Rennes and will represent France in the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Meanwhile, Monaco disappointingly missed out on European competition altogether. The Monegasques were in pole position to make the Europa League but failed to win any of their last four Ligue 1 matches.

Golden Boot/Top Scorers

The sensational Kylian Mbappe won his fourth straight Ligue 1 Golden Boot with 29 goals in 34 appearances. The PSG ace has joined the elite company and is one of just three players to win the award in four straight seasons. Jean Pierre-Papin and Carlos Bianchi are the only other two players to achieve the feat.

Alexandre Lacazette, Jonathan David, Folarin Balogun, and Lois Openda round out the Ligue 1 top scorers. Lacazette moved back to Lyon last Summer from Arsenal and scored 27 league goals as OL finished in seventh place in Ligue 1. Lille’s Canadian superstar Jonathan David found the net 24 times and added four assists.

Meanwhile, Flo Balogun scored 21 goals for Reims on loan from Arsenal. The newly-debuted American international scored nearly half of Reims’ goals in the 2022-23 season. Lens’ Belgian international Lois Openda also scored 21 times in his first season in French football.

Habib Diallo was the sixth player with 20+ goals in Ligue 1 this season. No other top-five European league had more than three 20-goal scorers in 2022-23.

Other Stats Leaders

Lionel Messi had five more assists than any other Ligue 1 player in 2022-23. Neymar came in second with 11 assists and Remy Cabella and Benjamin Bourigeaud both dished out 10 of their own.

Kylian Mbappe also led the Ligue 1 stats in goal contributions with 34. Mbappe scored 29 goals and provided five assists in a stellar 2022-23 season. Alexandre Lacazette and Lionel Messi both registered 32 goal contributions as; Messi had as many goals as assists.

Jonathan David was fourth, with 28 goal contributions. Meanwhile, Lois Openda and Wissam Ben Yedder both contributed to 25 goals for Lens and Monaco, respectively.

While Messi’s passing was excellent in 2022-23, Toulouse’s Branco van den Boomen led the league with 321 progressive passes. Van den Boomen is on his way to Ajax after an excellent campaign. Lille’s Benjamin Andre made 309 progressive passes, nine more than Messi. Bourigeaud and Marco Verratti rounded out the top five, with 264 and 262, respectively.

Andre led the league in tackles with 128. Nantes, who narrowly avoided relegation, needed all of Andrei Girotto’s 122 tackles to stay in Ligue 1. Lorient’s Enzo Le Fee, Brest’s Pierre Lees-Melou and Nice’s Melvin Bard were also in the top five.

Last but certainly not least, Lens goalkeeper Brice Samba led the league with 29 shutouts. He also led the league with just 0.76 goals conceded per 90 minutes. Reims keeper Yehvann Diouf was just one shutout behind Samba and he was a key cog behind Reims’ 19-match unbeaten run in the middle of the season. PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma kept 13 shutouts en route to a title win.

Rennes keeper Steve Mandanda kept 12 clean sheets, including three crucial ones in his last three season appearances. Nice’s Kasper Schmeichel and Nantes keeper Alban Lafont tied with 11 clean sheets.

Relegation Race

Angers finished in last place in the Ligue 1 2023 season, picking up just four wins and 18 points in 38 games. Troyes also finished 12 points from safety in their second season back in Ligue 1.

In a normal season, Ajaccio would have advanced to the relegation playoff vs. Ligue 2’s third-placed team. However, Ligue 1 is contracting to 18 teams and scrapped the playoff. Instead, they and Auxerre were the last two relegated teams. Auxerre had the opportunity to avoid relegation on the final day with a win over Lens.

Instead, Auxerre fell 3-1 to Ligue 1’s second-placed team. So, Nantes escaped the relegation zone on the final day with a 1-0 win over Angers. Ignatius Ganago scored the goal that kept the 2022 Coupe de France winners in the league. Le Havre and Metz will be the two new Ligue 1 teams in 2023-24, after finishing first and second in Ligue 2, respectively.

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