Paris Saint-Germain are no longer champions of France after Lille completed their stunning march to Ligue 1 glory on Sunday.
PSG headed into the final matchday with some hope remaining and upheld their end of the bargain, sweeping aside struggling Brest 2-0 – Kylian Mbappe on target after Neymar missed a penalty.
But Lille and their talisman Burak Yilmaz saw off Angers 2-1 to prevail by a point.
Considering the meagre victory margin, it is hard not to conclude that PSG's fate was sealed by a dreadful record against Lille, Monaco and Lyon, their fellow top-four incumbents this season.
In a mini-league made up of all the games played between those clubs, PSG came bottom in 2020-21 due to a mere four points from six matches.
Here, we take a closer look at how the Parisians let their domestic dominance slip.
Monaco 3-2 PSG (November 20)
PSG looked set for a routine win as Kylian Mbappe tore through to open the scoring against his former club before making it 2-0 from the penalty spot.
But Kevin Volland poached a brace and Cesc Fabregas, whose introduction at the interval proved key, converted a penalty six minutes from time. Abdou Diallo was sent off for bringing down the former Arsenal man.
It was the first time PSG had lost a Ligue 1 game after leading by at least two goals since going down 4-2 to Bastia in January 2015.
PSG 0-1 Lyon (December 13)
The defending champions had seen Lille replace them at the top of the standings before kick-off and were unable to respond in a lacklustre performance when they only managed one shot on target.
As such, Tino Kadewere's 35th-minute finish after PSG carelessly gave away possession was enough for Lille to leave the capital with three points.
Lille 0-0 PSG (December 20)
Pressure was mounting on Thomas Tuchel after that defeat and PSG were similarly listless at Lille a week later.
Again, their all-star attack only hit the target once as Lille goalkeeper Mike Maignan bolstered his eventual collection of 21 top-flight clean sheets – the best in Europe's big five leagues this season.
PSG got back on track with a 4-0 win over Strasbourg but, on Christmas Eve, Tuchel was sacked.
PSG 0-2 Monaco (February 21)
PSG were starting to look like a team reborn under Mauricio Pochettino heading into their return fixture with Monaco fixture having thrashed Barcelona 4-1 in the Champions League.
They were brought back down to earth by Niko Kovac's Monaco, as Sofiane Diop headed them into an early lead and Guillermo Maripan slotted home in the 51st minute.
Once more, PSG were shot-shy on the big occasion and Monaco became the first team to complete the Ligue 1 double over them since Nancy in 2011-12.
Lyon 2-4 PSG (March 21)
Following another home slip-up against Nantes, PSG belatedly started to show their teeth domestically, dispatching Lille 3-0 in the Coupe de France.
On the back of that triumph, they travelled to Lyon and were in rampant form. Mbappe gave PSG a 15th-minute lead and Danilo Pereira slammed home when the hosts failed to clear a corner.
Angel Di Maria's wicked free-kick delivery from the right went straight in shortly after half-time before Mbappe charged on to Marco Verratti's long ball and become the youngest player to reach 100 Ligue 1 goals. Islam Slimani and Maxwell Cornet restored a touch for pride for Lyon.
PSG 0-1 Lille (April 3)
A week on from that victory, PSG erred decisively as Lille claimed their first win at Parc des Princes since 1996.
Jonathan David's deflected 20th-minute effort from Jonathan Ikone's cutback was enough to be decisive on the day and in the final reckoning, considering Les Dogues ended up as champions by such a fine margin.
Neymar was sent off after a late clash with Tiago Djalo as the match and, ultimately, the title slipped away from Paris.
Sheffield Wednesday hit a new low as Sunderland ease to victory at Hillsborough
Sheffield Wednesday have now made the joint-worst start after nine games in Championship history after Sunderland beat them 3-0 at Hillsborough on Friday night.
A Dan Ballard header and two Jack Clarke goals, one a penalty, had the Black Cats in cruise control before half-time.
Wednesday are a club in disarray off the field, with chairman Dejphon Chansiri releasing a statement earlier in the day stating he would be putting no additional money into the club.
Owls boss Xisco Munoz made two changes to the team that lost 3-0 at Swansea, with George Byers and Callum Paterson joining the starting XI.
Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray made just the one switch after the 1-0 defeat at home to Cardiff, with Patrick Roberts coming in for Abdoullah Ba.
The first two chances of the game brought goals for the away side.
First, Ballard rose highest to meet Alex Pritchard’s corner after five minutes and just three minutes later Sunderland doubled their advantage when Clarke drove towards goal from the left and arrowed a beauty into the bottom corner.
On-loan Wednesday man John Buckley had a go from outside the box but his effort was put past the post by goalkeeper Anthony Patterson, then Anthony Musaba chanced his arm moments later but saw his curling attempt fly over the bar.
The third goal came in the 31st minute after Bambo Diaby brought down Mason Burstow in the box. Clarke stepped up to send Devis Vasquez the wrong way – it was the Championship top scorer’s second of the night and seventh of the season, six of them coming away from the Stadium of Light.
Home fans who had not already headed for the exits chanted for both manager and chairman to leave the club.
In the second half, Pol Valentin made a mazy run down the right-hand side and his cross found Paterson, who saw his shot saved by keeper Patterson.
Jobe Bellingham nearly made it four but his effort from distance went just wide.
Despite bringing on forwards Ashley Fletcher and Djeidi Gassama in the closing stages, Sunderland comfortably dealt with the majority of Wednesday’s attacks for the remainder of the game, having done the damage in the first 30 minutes.
The result lifts the Wearsiders to fourth ahead of Saturday’s fixtures, while Wednesday remain bottom, with just two points from their opening nine games.
Five-star Hamilton too hot for Annan
Hamilton thumped Annan 5-0 to continue their push for an immediate return to the Scottish Championship.
Accies have now won seven of their eight League One matches and needed only two minutes to make the breakthrough here, Jamie Barjonas running on from midfield and firing in a shot from the edge of the box.
It took until three minutes into the second half for Hamilton to score their second, Reghan Tumilty netting from a corner, and 10 minutes later Euan Henderson smashed in a third.
It was all too easy for the hosts, and they scored twice more through Connor Murray and Joe McGlynn, while Michael Hewitt was denied a sixth by the post.
Antony return to Manchester United will not be a distraction – Erik ten Hag
Erik ten Hag does not believe Antony’s return will be a distraction after Manchester United announced he will resume training and is available for selection amid police inquiries into allegations of abuse against him.
The 23-year-old was given a leave of absence on September 10 and returned to England from Brazil earlier this week, before attending a voluntary interview with Greater Manchester Police on Thursday.
Antony has always denied the allegations against him and United confirmed on Friday morning the winger will rejoin training and can resume playing Ten Hag’s side.
The Premier League club said in a statement: “Since allegations were first made in June, Antony has co-operated with police inquiries in both Brazil and the UK, and he continues to do so.
“As Antony’s employer, Manchester United has decided that he will resume training at Carrington, and be available for selection, while police inquiries proceed.
“This will be kept under review pending further developments in the case.
“As a club we condemn acts of violence and abuse. We recognise the importance of safeguarding all those involved in this situation, and acknowledge the impact these allegations have on survivors of abuse.”
United released the statement just over two hours before Ten Hag faced the media to preview Saturday’s match against Crystal Palace.
Antony will not be involved in that Premier League encounter but will return to training with the group on the day of the game.
“We make the statement, so I refer to the statement,” Ten Hag said. “I think everything has been made clear in the statement.
“No, I don’t think it’s a distraction. We focus on the games and he will do as well.”
Asked for details on his return, the Dutchman said: “On Saturday, he will be back in the training, so tomorrow.
“I have to see (how fit he is), but I think, yeah (he’s fit).”
Antony is facing several accusations of physical aggression towards his former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin, who spoke to Brazilian outlet UOL earlier this month.
The winger has denied those allegations, as well as further assault claims made by Rayssa de Freitas and Ingrid Lana.
Antony has not been arrested or charged in either Brazil or by GMP and he left the voluntary interview, where he presented evidence to support his strenuous denials, without any restrictions.
United will continue to monitor the situation while police enquiries are going on.
A spokesperson for the charity Women’s Aid said: “We know that this morning’s news from Manchester United about their player, Antony, returning to training and selection while police inquiries continue will have an impact on survivors of domestic abuse.
“We urge the national football organisations to work with specialist services, like Women’s Aid, to provide much-needed guidance for clubs on domestic abuse and the handling of domestic abuse cases.
“An informed and consistent approach is vital in order to create a society where domestic abuse is not tolerated and we will be writing to the national organisations to raise this.”
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