The old adage suggests life begins at 40, and in sports there have been several instances of stars celebrating glorious triumphs in the twilight of their career.

Phil Mickelson became the latest history maker on Sunday with a memorable US PGA Championship victory at the age of 50, making him the older male major winner of all time.

A two-shot victory over Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen made Mickelson a six-time major winner, and marked his first since he topped the leaderboard at The Open in 2013, aged 43.

But Mickelson is by no means the first sportsperson to prove that age is just a number. Here we remember some of the greatest achievements by those of advancing years (at least in sporting terms…).

BRADY BUCS THE TREND AT SUPER BOWL LV

When Tom Brady ended his lengthy association with the New England Patriots, some doubted whether he could emulate his unrivalled success at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Those people were wrong. Already the oldest quarterback to have won a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots two years prior, Brady's memorable triumph with the Bucs over the Kansas City Chiefs at Super Bowl LV back in February saw him become the oldest player to win a ring, aged 43.

HOPKINS PUNCHES TICKET INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS

Boxing has a long history of fighters continuing well into their later years, and often times they prove ill-advised decisions.

But Bernard Hopkins certainly does not fall into that category. The all-time great first became boxing's oldest ever world champion when he defeated Jean Pascal in May 2011 to win the WBC and IBO light-heavyweight titles aged 46.

Two years later, he broke his own record by toppling Tavoris Cloud to win the IBF strap, and then in April 2014 – at the age of 49 – defeated Beibut Shumenov to add the WBA's belt to his collection.
 
FANGIO FINDS THE FORMULA TO SUCCESS

Revered by many as the greatest Formula One driver of all time, Juan Manuel Fangio certainly has a record to stack up against the best.

The Argentinian had seven full seasons in F1 and was world champion five times with four different teams and runner-up twice, while there were 24 wins from 51 Grands Prix.

The last of his F1 title-winning seasons occurred in 1957 at the age of 46, making him the series' oldest champion of all time.

NOTHING IS ZOFF LIMITS FOR VETERAN DINO

Dino Zoff is not the oldest player to ever feature in a World Cup fixture, that honour belongs to Essam El Hadary, who was 45 when he played in Egypt's final group-stage match against Saudi Arabia in 2018.

But the Italy legend does hold the record as the oldest player to win the World Cup when he lifted the trophy aged 40 years, four months and 13 days in a 3-1 victory over West Germany in 1982 in front of a bumper crowd of 90,000 in Madrid.

ROSEWALL AND SERENA ARE ACE

Serena Williams and her sister Venus have made a mockery of Father Time in women's tennis over the past two decades, while Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have dominated the men's game in their 30s.

But still, greatness should still be recognised and the last of Serena's grand slam titles at the 2017 Australian Open (when she was eight weeks pregnant no less!) saw her become the oldest female slam winner of all time.

In the men's game, the honour does not belong the three aforementioned modern-day greats (though who would bet against one of them doing it one day?). That benchmark lies with Ken Rosewall, who was 37 years, two months and one day old when he won in Melbourne in 1972.

PHIL TOPPLES BOROS

In the context of Mickelson's triumph, it seems only fair to mention the man who previously held golf's major benchmark.

Julius Boros was 48 when he won the 1968 PGA Championship. Indeed, golf is a game where players can excel much later in their careers.

Tom Morris and Jack Nicklaus were both 46 when they won the last majors of their glittering careers at The Open and the Masters respectively.

Kylian Mbappe will "100 per cent" be staying at Paris Saint-Germain despite the club missing out on the Ligue 1 title, according to president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

Superstar France forward Mbappe was on target as PSG won 2-0 at Brest on Sunday but it was not enough to deny Lille a famous title triumph as the underdogs ran out 2-1 victors at Angers.

PSG also faltered in the Champions League, going down 4-1 on aggregate to Manchester City in the semi-finals and Mbappe – who finished top scorer in Ligue 1 for a third consecutive season – has consistently been linked with a move away from the club.

With only a little over a year remaining on his contract, the likes of Real Madrid and Liverpool have been credited with an interest in securing Mbappe's services.

But Al-Khelaifi was defiant about the 22-year-old's future when addressing the issue with Canal +.

"For me, Kylian is a PSG player and will be a PSG player. I am not worried," he said. 

"Do not worry, let us work. Mbappe is Parisian. He is French, he is Parisian, he is under contract and he wants to stay 100 per cent.

"He's not going anywhere. We are not blocked at all. We are really calm, very relaxed."

As well as finishing top of the scoring charts with 27 goals, Mbappe also led the way for shots on target (55), while there were seven assists and nine Opta-defined 'big chances' in the top flight.

Additionally, Mbappe had a very impressive big-chance conversion rate of 60.53, and created 33 chances for his team-mates.

His achievement of winning the top scorer award for three straight seasons saw him become the first player to do so since Jean-Pierre Papin won five times between 1987-88 and 1991-92.

For his own part, Mbappe declared his love for the club but did lay down a challenge to the PSG hierarchy to enter the transfer market.

"I cannot say what needs to be done, I am just a player, but I think that people have seen, everyone has seen," he said.

"When everyone sees, it is easier to draw conclusions, but there is no problem. We lost the title, but now we have to concentrate on the future.

"Everyone knows how profoundly attached I am to the club. I have always been very thankful towards the president, my different coaches.

"What I want, is to win, feel like I am somewhere where I can win, where there is a solid project around me. The footballing project is essential."

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis shouldered the blame for the NBA champions' Game 1 loss to the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference first round.

Davis was far from his best as LeBron James and the Lakers went down 99-90 to the second-seeded Suns in Phoenix on Sunday.

Lakers big man Davis was five-for-16 shooting in a team-high 39 minutes of action as he recorded just 13 points against the Suns, while missing both of his attempts from three-point range.

As a team, the Lakers were just 26.9 per cent from beyond the arc after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made just one of his seven shots.

Afterwards, Davis scrutinised his performance as the Lakers – ranked seventh in the west – look to bounce back on Tuesday.

"There's no way we're winning a game, let alone the series, with me playing the way I played," Davis said.

"This is on me. I take whatever responsibility, for sure. I'll be ready for Game 2."

"I kind of got lost in the offense. But I still have to be assertive to get the ball," Davis added. "That's on me. I still have to find ways to make plays on that end of the floor offensively.

"It's on me. I'm not too worried about my performance. I know I'll be better. I know we'll be better in Game 2."

Superstar Lakers team-mate James, who finished with 18 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, added: "It's always AD being AD.

"Any time he comes to the press room and tells you we can't win without him or with him playing the way he played, he always responds. I'm looking forward to that."

"I love when AD puts that pressure on himself," James said. "We're a better team when he's aggressive and we're a better team when he demands the ball."

Davis had posted 42 points against the Suns in the absence of James on May 9, but Phoenix nullified his impact on Sunday.

"Phoenix brought a lot more attention obviously because of that game," Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said. "They did a great job. Give them credit.

"They did a good job limiting his touches and bringing double teams when he did get it and making things difficult for him. But there are ways we can be better to take advantage of that."

Vogel continued: "There's plenty we can do. I'm not going to get into details on what our adjustments are going to look like. But certainly we can do a better job in taking advantage of the attention that he's drawn."

The Memphis Grizzlies did not follow the script in their shock 112-109 victory over the top-ranked Utah Jazz in the NBA playoffs, while the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns drew first blood in their first-round openers.

Utah secured sole possession of the best record in the NBA for the first time in franchise history, having topped the Western Conference with a 52-20 record.

But in the continued absence of All-Star Donovan Mitchell (ankle), the Jazz were upstaged by the eighth-seeded Grizzlies in Sunday's opener on home court.

Dillon Brooks (31 points), Ja Morant (26 points) and Jonas Valanciunas (15 points and 13 rebounds) fuelled the visiting Grizzlies in Utah.

Brooks became the sixth player in the last 10 postseasons to score 30-plus points in his playoffs debut, joining Devin Booker (2021), Luka Doncic (2020), Kyrie Irving (2015), Anthony Davis (2015) and Damian Lillard (2014).

Kyle Anderson also registered a Grizzlies single-game playoff record with his six steals, surpassing the previous mark set by Mike Conley – who now plays for the Jazz – in 2013.

The Jazz were led by Bojan Bogdanovic (29 points), Conley (22 points and 11 assists) and Rudy Gobert (11 points and 15 rebounds).

Harris and Embiid flex muscles, Booker stars as Suns sizzle

Eastern Conference top seeds the 76ers overcame the Washington Wizards 125-118 in Game 1 of their first-round series. A playoff career-high 37 points from Tobias Harris set the tone, while MVP hopeful Joel Embiid had 30 points, six rebounds and three assists. Harris and Embiid became the first pair of 76ers to score 30-plus points in a playoff game in 31 years since Charles Barkley and Hersey Hawkins. All-Star team-mate Ben Simmons (six points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists) joined Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain as the only 76ers players ever with 15 rebounds and 15 assists in a playoff game. Double-doubles from Bradley Beal (33 points and 10 rebounds) and Russell Westbrook (16 points and 14 assists) were not enough for the eighth-ranked Wizards.

The Suns trumped defending champions the Los Angeles Lakers 99-90 behind Booker (34 points) and Deandre Ayton (21 points and 16 rebounds). Back in the playoffs for the first time since 2009-10, the Suns used a 32-25 opening quarter to see off the seventh seeds in the series opener in the west, despite Chris Paul's shoulder injury. LeBron James had 18 points and 10 assists in a double-double display for the Lakers.

Randle struggles

All eyes were on All-Star Julius Randle after leading the New York Knicks back to the postseason for the first time since 2012-13. While he collected 12 rebounds, Randle was far from his usual best in the 107-105 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks. Randle finished six-for-23 shooting for 15 points in 36 minutes. The Knicks star made just two of his six three-pointers.

Anthony Davis was five-for-16 shooting in a team-high 39 minutes of action as the Lakers star recorded just 13 points against the Suns. He missed both of his attempts from beyond the arc. As a team, the Lakers were just 26.9 per cent from the three-point line after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made just one of his seven shots.

Ice Trae!

Trae Young was the hero for the Hawks, who edged the Knicks in their series opener at Madison Square Garden. Young nailed the game-winner with 0.9 seconds remaining to silence the New York crowd in a thriller between the fourth and fifth seeds in the east. The Hawks guard finished with 32 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. According to Stats Perform, Young is the first NBA player to make a game-winning field goal in the final five seconds in his playoff debut since Dwyane Wade in 2004.

Sunday's results

Philadelphia 76ers 125-118 Washington Wizards
Phoenix Suns 99-90 Los Angeles Lakers
Atlanta Hawks 107-105 New York Knicks
Memphis Grizzlies 112-109 Utah Jazz

Heat at Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks will look to extend their lead over the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first-round series on Monday.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a grand slam in a two-homer performance as the San Diego Padres swept their homestand with a 9-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

With the Padres leading 4-1 and bases full at the bottom of the seventh inning on Sunday, star Tatis launched over centerfield for a grand slam.

The grand slam was Tatis' second of his career and 13th homer of the MLB season, having hit his 12th earlier in the ball game.

Leading the Padres off in the second, Silver Slugger Tatis homered with a 441-foot shot off Justin Dunn in his 200th hit for the high-flying Padres – who own the best record in the majors (30-17) atop the National League (NL) West.

Tatis also got home in the sixth, when the Padres scored four runs, as they made it nine consecutive home wins before hitting the road.

Over his last four games, Tatis is batting .786 with 12 RBI and has also walked three times. According to Stats Perform, he is the first player to bat .750 or better with 12-plus RBI and three-plus walks over a four-game span since Babe Ruth in 1932.

The 22-year-old is the first shortstop in MLB history to hit at least 50 homers (52) by the time of his 200th career hit.

Dodgers sweep Giants, walk offs galore

World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a series sweep against the San Francisco Giants with an 11-5 win. Julio Urias drove in two runs as he became the first Dodgers pitcher with three RBI in a game since 2014. Gavin Lux also hit a grand slam for the Dodgers against their NL West rivals.

The Tampa Bay Rays made it 10 wins in a row while condemning the Toronto Blue Jays to five straight defeats with a 6-4 triumph after three straight walks from Travis Bergen in the ninth inning.

Adolis Garcia drove in the winning run from Nick Solak as the Texas Rangers knocked off the Houston Astros 3-2 in a walk-off victory.

Trevor Story hit a home run to seal a 4-3 walk-off win for the Colorado Rockies over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Carlos Santana did the same with a homer to clinch a 3-2 walk-off triumph for the Kansas City Royals over the Detroit Tigers.

Four early from Rodriguez

Boston Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez has been shaky lately and he gave up four runs in the opening inning of the team's 6-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. He responded with six strikeouts but only pitched across four innings as he finished with five hits, three walks and a homer.

Anthony DeSclafani struggled for the Giants. The San Francisco pitcher allowed 10 runs in three innings, with six the most earned runs he had previously given up all season.

Javier breaks the deadlock

Javier Baez hit a 10th-inning home run to earn the Chicago Cubs a 2-1 win over the St Louis Cardinals. It was the Cubs' first hit in 18 plate appearances with a man on base, coming at the right time.

Sunday's results

Washington Nationals 6-5 Baltimore Orioles
Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees 5-4 Chicago White Sox
Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 Toronto Blue Jays
Miami Marlins 5-1 New York Mets
Milwaukee Brewers 9-4 Cincinnati Reds 
Minnesota Twins 8-5 Cleveland Indians
Atlanta Braves 7-1 Pittsburgh Pirates
Kansas City Royals 3-2 Detroit Tigers
Texas Rangers 3-2 Houston Astros
Colorado Rockies 4-3 Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Dodgers 11-5 San Francisco Giants
Los Angeles Angels 6-5 Oakland Athletics
San Diego Padres 9-2 Seattle Mariners
Chicago Cubs 2-1 St Louis Cardinals 

Padres at Brewers

The in-form Padres begin their series against the Brewers (23-23) on Monday. Blake Snell starts for the Padres in Milwaukee, where Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff takes to the mound.

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers labelled Ben Simmons "special" after the Eastern Conference top seeds made a winning start in the NBA playoffs.

Simmons, Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid starred as the 76ers topped the Washington Wizards 125-118 in Game 1 of the first-round series on Sunday.

While Simmons only finished with six points on three-for-nine shooting, the All-Star tallied 15 rebounds and 15 assists at home to the eighth-seeded Wizards in Philadelphia.

Simmons joined Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain as the only 76ers players ever with 15 rebounds and 15 assists in a playoff game, earning praise from Rivers.

"I thought he was special," said Rivers. "Whoever he guarded struggled scoring, he created so many points for us, off the glass to three, off transition to three, creating switches that they didn’t want to have.

"He is just a treasure. He is something that you don't see a lot in this league and he has such a skill set that's so different. There's a lot of people that can't make what of him.

"All I see is his greatness and I just want him to keep doing what he's doing."

Simmons – as the 76ers eye their first championship since 1983 – added: "I just try to make winning plays and do what I can to help this team and be the point guard and run the team.

"Put guys in the right positions, run the right sets, if somebody’s feeling it, keep giving them the ball. I think overall today we did a good job of that."

Harris and MVP hopeful Embiid also flexed their muscles in front of a capped but vocal crowd at Wells Fargo Center.

A playoff career-high 37 points from Harris set the tone, while Embiid had 30 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Harris and Embiid became the first pair of 76ers to score 30-plus points in a playoff game in 31 years since Charles Barkley and Hersey Hawkins.

"Tobias, I have full faith in," Rivers said. "I said it early, I think he struggled the first couple of games, and just from the body of work, coaching them with the Clippers and knowing him and watching him what we are trying to do with him in the training camp, I just really believe it would take over at some point and it has."

Harris is bracing for a challenging playoff campaign, starting with Russel Westbrook, Bradley Beal and the in-form Wizards.

"Yesterday [Saturday] I was watching NBA games, and I was kind of surprised. I said, 'Man, all these games are really close.' It wasn't like a real big spread in any of them," Harris said. "And I think this whole playoffs, game in and game out, you're gonna see dogfights from all around the league.

"I mean, Washington, you know they've been one of the hottest teams after the All-Star break in the whole NBA, so for us, we know the power that they have and the guys that can make shots on the team. So that just adds to our focus as a group and knowing how locked in we need to be for this whole series, and that's only going to help us into where we're trying to go."

The 76ers, who were swept by the Boston Celtics in last season's first round, are dreaming big as they look to progress beyond the Conference semi-finals for the first time since 2001.

"You know we've been there," Embiid said. "And we also have a goal, and to get to that goal, we got to get through these guys. So you know, the mindset is just me, it doesn't matter if it's a week or two weeks off, it doesn't matter if we haven't played in a while. That should not be an excuse."

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Mauricio Pochettino said he is disappointed his side missed out on the Ligue 1 title, while lamenting their hectic fixture schedule.

PSG won 2-0 at Brest on the final day of the Ligue 1 season on Sunday but leaders Lille secured the trophy with their 2-1 victory away to Angers.

The result ended PSG's run of three consecutive league titles, leaving former Tottenham boss Pochettino – who replaced Thomas Tuchel in January –  "sad and disappointed".

Pochettino pointed to the fact PSG won both the Trophee des Champions and Coupe de France, while they also reached the Champions League semi-finals after eliminating Barcelona and holders Bayern Munich.

PSG played 57 matches across a lengthy campaign where they had little time to rest after reaching last season's Champions League final, which they lost to Bayern.

"I think it's important to put everything in context and to look at what happened in January," Pochettino said post-game. "We arrived and had no time to work, but we were welcomed really well by the club and the players.

"We were playing every three days and we made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League, beating Bayern Munich and Barcelona. We won the Trophee des Champions and the Coupe de Franc, which was important for the team.

"But Paris Saint-Germain will always be disappointed when finishing in second. We need to use the experience for the future of the club and of course to change things.

"It's important for the club to improve and we believe that we can get better. We are going to work hard for that to happen."

It is only the second time in the last nine seasons that PSG failed to win the title after 2016-17, when the French capital club were edged out by Monaco.

PSG finished the season with 82 points, their lowest tally over a complete season since 2011-12 (79, second place). It is only the second time a team have reached this total or better without being crowned champions after PSG, who totalled 87 points in 2016-17 when Monaco won the title.

Pochettino said PSG dropped too many points when they should not have in 2020-21.

"It is clear that during the whole season, not just from January, we lost points that we should have never lost in normal circumstances," he said.

"Today we won but we depended on a bad result from Lille in Angers. First of all I want to congratulate Lille because always when you win a championship it is well deserved, so the first thing I have to do is to congratulate them."

Kylian Mbappe became Ligue 1’s top goalscorer for a third consecutive season – the first player to achieve the feat since Jean-Pierre Papin (five between 1987-88 and 1991-92).

It is the 12th time a PSG player has finished as top scorer at the end of a campaign (Mbappe and Zlatan Ibrahimovic three times each, Carlos Bianchi, Pauleta and Edinson Cavani twice each), equalling the record currently held by Marseille.

Pochettino added: "Of course we are disappointed, we really believed that anything could happen in Angers, but it didn't happen. I think we were professional and we won. But in the end, it wasn't enough to win the title. We are disappointed and really sad."

Tiger Woods congratulated "truly inspirational" Phil Mickelson after the American made history at the US PGA Championship on Sunday.

Mickelson defied form and age to capture the PGA Championship in history-making fashion following his two-shot triumph over Louis Oosthuizen and Brooks Koepka.

Not since February 2019 had Mickelson won on the PGA Tour, while the 50-year-old's last major triumph came at the Open Championship in 2013.

But Mickelson became the oldest major champion in golf history in South Carolina, where he secured a sixth major title and 45th Tour trophy.

Watching from the sidelines as he continues to recover from February's single-car crash, 15-time major winner and famous foe Woods used social media to hail Mickelson.

Woods wrote via Twitter: "Truly inspirational to see @PhilMickelson do it again at 50 years of age. Congrats !!!!!!!."

After reigning supreme, Mickelson – who has enjoyed a great rivalry with Woods – said: "This is just an incredible feeling because I just believed that it was possible but yet everything was saying it wasn't.

"I hope that others find that inspiration. It might take a little extra work, a little bit harder effort, but gosh, is it worth it in the end."

Ligue 1 champions Lille had just two players named in the competition's Team of the Season, with runners-up Paris Saint-Germain represented by five.

It was an incredible season for Christophe Galtier's Lille, who had finished fourth in the shortened 2019-20 campaign.

A talented squad full of vibrant, youthful attackers – albeit spearheaded by veteran campaigner Burak Yilmaz – clinched Ligue 1 title number four for the club on Sunday, with their success confirmed when they beat Angers 2-1 on the final day of the season.

PSG finished top in the previous three seasons since Monaco's Kylian Mbappe-inspired win in 2016-17.

Indeed, it is only the second time since 2012-13 that the capital club has not won the title… Not that you would know it when looking at the Team of the Season as announced by the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) following the conclusion of the season.

The Parisians dominate the XI with five players: Keylor Navas, Marquinhos, Presnel Kimpembe, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

The only two Lille players to be included in the selection were left-back Reinildo Mandava and Benjamin Andre.

Yilmaz in particular will have every right to be disappointed by his exclusion, with the veteran Turkish striker only outscored by Cristiano Ronaldo (29) among players over the age of 35 across Europe's top five leagues.

His penalty on Sunday, which ultimately proved to be the goal that sealed Lille the title, was his 16th in Ligue 1, a haul bettered by only Mbappe, Monaco's Wissam Ben Yedder and Lyon star Memphis Depay.

Yilmaz is performing well in excess of his expected goals (xG) figure of 9.97. A positive differential of 6.03 is the sixth-best in the elite divisions behind Robert Lewandowski, Marcos Llorente, Son Heung-min, Luis Muriel and Lionel Messi.

Similarly, goalkeeper Mike Maignan may feel a slightly hard done by, his 21 clean sheets two better than anyone else across the top five leagues.

Although, using the xGOT (expected goals on target) conceded model, Navas (8.1) is one of the three goalkeepers in Europe's top leagues to have prevented more goals than Maignan (5.8).

Either way, Lille may not even notice the team has been announced as they look set for a long night of celebrations at the end of a momentous campaign.

Napoli parted ways with head coach Gennaro Gattuso on Sunday after the club missed out on qualification for next season's Champions League. 

Shortly after a 1-1 draw with Hellas Verona at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona that consigned Napoli to finishing fifth in Serie A, president Aurelio De Laurentiis confirmed Gattuso's exit. 

Napoli went into the weekend in fourth position but were leapfrogged on the final day by Juventus, who were 4-1 winners at Bologna. 

Gattuso, whose contract expires at the end of June, has been linked with Fiorentina among other Italian clubs.

"Dear Rino, I am happy to have spent almost two seasons with you," tweeted De Laurentiis. 

"Thanking you for your work, I wish you success wherever you go. A hug to your wife and children too." 

Napoli took the lead against Verona through Amir Rrahmani in the 60th minute – a club-record 50th home league goal this season – but Marco Faraoni ensured the spoils were shared. 

It spelled the end of Gattuso, who took over in December 2019 following the dismissal of Carlo Ancelotti. He led Napoli to glory in the Coppa Italia and a seventh-place finish in Serie A last season. 

Napoli were surprisingly eliminated from the Europa League last 32 by Granada and missing out on Champions League qualification saw the club opt against a renewal.

Gattuso won 46 of his 81 games as Napoli boss, giving him a win percentage of 56.8 - better than Rafael Benitez (52.7 per cent) and Ancelotti (52.1 per cent) but worse than Ottavio Bianchi (56.9 per cent) and Maurizio Sarri (66.2 per cent). 

Lille secured their first Ligue 1 title in 10 years on Sunday, ending Paris Saint-Germain's dominance of France's top tier. 

It has been an incredible season for Christophe Galtier's team, who finished fourth in the shortened 2019-20 campaign.

But a talented squad full of vibrant, youthful attackers – albeit spearheaded by veteran campaigner Burak Yilmaz – has clinched Ligue 1 title number four for the club, with their success confirmed when they beat Angers 2-1 on the final day of the campaign.

Eden Hazard was among the stars to propel Lille to their last title, in 2011, with Les Douges also triumphing in 1946 and 1954.

PSG finished top in the previous three seasons, since Monaco's Kylian Mbappe-inspired win in 2016-17. Indeed, it is only the second time since 2012-13 that the capital club has not won the title.

Using Opta data, we take a look at the numbers behind Lille's sensational season.

STACKING UP THE POINTS

With 79 points after 36 games, Lille already set their best tally in a Ligue 1 season in their history (based on three points for a win) ahead of the penultimate meeting of 2020-21 with Saint-Etienne.

A win against Claude Puel's team last week eluded Lille, though, with a point keeping PSG – who beat Reims – firmly in the running heading into the last round of fixtures.

Yet they came up with the vital three points against mid-table Angers.

Galtier's side have lost only three league fixtures this term (W24, D11) – those defeats coming in November, January and March against Brest (2-3), Angers (1-2) and Nimes (1-2) respectively. 

It is Galtier's first Ligue 1 crown as a coach. Since his appointment at Lille in December 2017, only George Barry, between 1944 and 1946, has managed a better win rate in the club's history (55.9 per cent).

MAGNIFICENT MAIGNAN MARSHALLS MISERLY DEFENCE

According to multiple reports, Mike Maignan may have played his final game for Lille, with Serie A giants Milan rumoured to have lined the goalkeeper up as their replacement for Gianluigi Donnarumma, who is out of contract next month.

Maignan joined Lille in 2015, and the 25-year-old has developed into one of the best goalkeepers in Europe.

He has kept 21 clean sheets in Ligue 1 this season, more than any other goalkeeper across the continent's top five leagues, while before Sunday's game, only PSG's Keylor Navas (79.3) and Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak (80.2) had a better shot-stopping rate than Maignan (79.1) of 'keepers to have played at least 15 games.

Ahead of Maignan, Lille's defence have also performed admirably, with the experienced Jose Fonte partnering Dutch youngster Sven Botman, who has been linked to Liverpool.

Lille have let in just seven goals in the second half of Ligue 1 matches in 2020-21 and conceded only 22 times in total. 

TURKISH DELIGHT AS YILMAZ ENJOYS LATE BLOOM

Eyebrows may have been raised when Lille brought in Yilmaz, the former Galatasaray, Trabzonspor and Besiktas striker.

However, the 35-year-old has more than proved any doubters wrong, scoring 16 times in his maiden Ligue 1 season, while also providing five assists.

His 21 direct goal involvements put him six ahead of any other Lille player, and his experience has profited a front line which includes Jonathan Bamba, Jonathan David, Yusuf Yazici and Jonathan Ikone, who have combined for 30 league goals.

Yilmaz is the first player to score at least 15 goals in his first season with Lille in Ligue 1 since Moussa Sow in 2010-11 (25), while his penalty at Angers beat the record for the most goals netted by a Turkish player in a single campaign in the competition, set by Mevlut Erdinc in 2009-10.

The striker has also shown an eye for the spectacular and Lille's 12 goals from outside the box were more than any other team Ligue 1 team. 

Franck Kessie's penalties gave Milan a 2-0 victory that secured their return to the Champions League after a seven-season absence as Atalanta finished with 10 men.

Milan led the way in the Scudetto race until February but fell off the pace and went into the final weekend knowing that defeat could see them slip to fifth and miss out on a place in Europe's premier club competition. 

They showed little desire to attack Atalanta, who were already guaranteed to finish in the top four, but moved ahead two minutes before half-time thanks to Kessie's first spot-kick. 

Marten de Roon was shown a red card – a little shove on the referee in response could land him in further bother – following the awarding of a second penalty in second-half stoppage time that Kessie slotted home to spark jubilation in the Milan camp.

Milan spent much of the first half successfully absorbing Atalanta pressure but they were awarded a chance to go ahead when Joakim Maehle felled Theo Hernandez in the box.

Former Atalanta midfielder Kessie confident stepped up and drilled the resulting penalty into the bottom-left corner in a massive moment for Milan.

Gian Piero Gasperini sent on Luis Muriel for the second half but the hosts struggled to test Gianluigi Donnarumma.

They nearly fell two behind in the 69th minute when Kessie surged forward and fed Rafael Leao, who saw his dink over Pierluigi Gollini hit the upright.

Milan continued to defend well as Atalanta looked for an equaliser that would have secured an unprecedented second-place finish for the club.

However, referee Maurizio Mariani pointed to the spot when Hakan Calhanoglu's mishit deflected off Jose Luis Palomino and struck Robin Gosens on the arm.

De Roon was dismissed for violent conduct in an ensuing melee and he responded by pushing the referee.

Kessie was eventually able to take his penalty and he converted again to ensure it was Napoli who missed out on Champions League qualification.

What does it mean? Milan save some face

The Rossoneri were in danger of becoming only the second team to finish outside the top three in Serie A after leading at the halfway stage – Juventus being the other side when they slipped from first to fifth in 1935-36.

However, Kessie's penalties clinched a valuable victory that secured their best league finish since 2011-12, lightening the blow of seeing arch-rivals Inter lift the trophy earlier on Sunday.

The Rossoneri also made history by becoming the first team to win 16 Serie A away games in a single season, breaking a record that was set by Inter in 2006-07.

Franck deserves a Kessie

With a pair of penalties, Kessie became the first Milan player to score 11 spot-kicks in a single Serie A campaign in history. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (12) and Ciro Immobile (14) have registered more across one season.

Maehle has a mare

The way Atalanta were playing it seemed like it would only be a matter of time until they got the opening goal, but Maehle's reckless challenge on Kessie changed the game. He gave away possession 12 times and failed to win any of his eight duels.

Key Opta Facts

- Milan will return to play in the Champions League for the first time since 2013-14 (when they were eliminated in the last 16 by Atletico Madrid).
- The Rossoneri have set a new all-time record for away wins in a Serie A season: 16. No side has ever done better in the top-five European leagues in a single campaign (16 also for Real Madrid in 2011-12 and Manchester City in 2017-18).
- Franck Kessie is the first Milan player to score two penalties in a single Serie A match since Kaka in April 2009 against Palermo.
- Atalanta have failed to score in only two of their past 21 Serie A matches: both against Milanese sides (the previous against Inter last March).
- Milan have kept a clean sheet in five consecutive Serie A games for the first time since March 2006.
- Stefano Pioli's side have taken the most penalties (20) in a single Serie A season since 2004-05 (when Opta started to collect this data).

What's next?

Milan will hope Champions League qualification enables them to tie Gianluigi Donnarumma and Calhanoglu down to new contracts, with Atalanta also able to look forward to another season in Europe's premier club competition.

Juventus have qualified for the Champions League on the final day of the Serie A season thanks to beating Bologna 4-1 and rivals Napoli only managing a draw at home to Hellas Verona.

Andrea Pirlo's men went into the weekend in danger of missing out on the Champions League for the first time since finishing seventh in 2010-11, but Verona did them a favour as they held on to a 1-1 draw in Naples, meaning Juve take fourth a point ahead of Napoli.

Juve certainly held up their end of the bargain, dismantling Bologna with consummate ease despite the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, with Adrien Rabiot and Federico Chiesa adding to Alvaro Morata's brace to have them 4-0 up by the 47th minute.

Riccardo Orsolini's late consolation had little bearing – the Bianconeri just had to see what happened elsewhere with Milan also in the hunt with Juve and Napoli, the latter of whom eventually became the team to miss out on the top four.

Juve looked like a team on a mission and were in front within six minutes as Chiesa converted somewhat scrappily after Dejan Kulusevski had caused havoc down the right flank.

It took them a little while to double their advantage but the second goal did arrive with half an hour played, Paulo Dybala doing brilliantly as he left the Bologna defence in knots before a chipped cross found Morata to nod home.

Rabiot then made it 3-0 on the stroke of half-time, the Frenchman slotting past Lukasz Skorupski from Kulusevski's lay-off at the end of a lovely flowing move.

Juve quickly picked up where they left off in the second period, Morata producing an exquisite first touch on the spin to bring Wojciech Szczesny's long ball under his spell, then holding off a defender before squeezing a powerful shot under the hands of Skorupski.

Morata nearly got his hat-trick just before the hour when hitting into the side-netting from a Juan Cuadrado cross, though former Juve talent Orsolini did score at the other end with a well-taken finish late on.

Not that it had any major impact on Juve, who never looked like dropping points and that did the job as they ensured they will be at Europe's top table next term.

Charles Leclerc found it "very difficult to feel okay" after his latest failed attempt to finish a Monaco Grand Prix, in which he was unable even to take his place on the grid.

Leclerc had qualified fastest on Saturday but crashed in the process, giving the Ferrari mechanics work to do to get his car in shape to start from pole position.

The Scuderia announced three hours before the race they would not have to replace the gearbox, ensuring Leclerc would not face a grid penalty.

However, the 23-year-old quickly ran into trouble driving the car ahead of the start, as Ferrari identified "an issue with the left driveshaft" that meant he had to be withdrawn around 20 minutes prior to the grand prix.

The Monegasque was making his third Formula One appearance at Monaco having retired from the prior two.

But for this mishap, Leclerc might have produced the best result of a home driver in the principality, a feat that still belongs Louis Chiron, who came third at the first ever F1 Monaco GP in 1950.

"In the garage, it was very, very difficult to feel okay," Leclerc told Sky Sports.

"I guess now I'm getting used to this feeling here, unfortunately. I've never finished a race here. This year I don't start it starting from pole.

"It's a difficult one to take, but I also feel for the team, to be honest. The mechanics have done such a hard job yesterday to try to check everything.

"The mechanics were finally a bit happy this morning to see that everything seems fine and all the parts were fine, and then this happens. It's a shame for everyone."

Max Verstappen, who started from second but had a clear run with Leclerc's position vacant, won at Monaco for the first time, finishing ahead of Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari car.

Sainz delivered Ferrari's 54th Monaco podium, extending their record haul.