Big two set to dominate again
We mustn’t get overly sentimental about Monaco becoming Ligue 1 champions. After all, Russian owner Dmitry Rybolovlev is hardly one of the game’s paupers
In a country where football has been dominated by one club for so long, last season was a breath of fresh air, as a young, vibrant, attack-oriented Monaco effectively muscled the big boys out of the way and became top dogs.
But we mustn’t get overly sentimental about Monaco becoming Ligue 1 champions. After all, Russian owner Dmitry Rybolovlev is hardly one of the game’s paupers. However, Monaco, expertly managed by Portuguese coach Leonardo Jardim, were assembled for a fraction of the cost of the Paris Saint-Germain side that they so effectively pushed into second place.
Not only that, but Monaco played football the way fans want to see it: open, exciting, sometimes naive, but never less than thrilling.
Scoring a staggering 107 goals on the way to the title, at an average of 2.81 a game, Monaco got their hands on the title because they had superior firepower. With teenage prodigy Kylian Mbappe banging them in for fun and Colombian striker Radamel Falcao rediscovering the kind of poaching form that had made him one of European football’s most feared predators, Monaco simply ran riot.
Their defence, superbly marshalled
by Polish centre-half Kamil Glik, wasn’t too shabby either. Their tally of 31 goals conceded was four more than PSG, but at the end of the day the difference was negligible. Solid at the back, supremely creative in midfield thanks to Bernardo Silva, and devastating in attack, Monaco thoroughly deserved their success.
Of course, there was always the fear that the team would break up as Europe’s big boys came hunting for talent with open cheque books. Silva and left-back Benjamin Mendy went to Manchester City, while thundering midfield warrior Tiemoue Bakayoko joined Chelsea, while there was a queue of clubs on the trail of midfielder Thomas Lemar and Mbappe as Monaco made preparations for their title defence.
It’s not all bad news, though. Monaco signed 20-year-old Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans from Anderlecht for
25million and much is expected of him. Jardim may have his work cut out with PSG smarting from the bloody nose he gave them last season, but he is a canny operator and you wouldn’t bet against him having a few tricks up his sleeve to confound the odds again.
But what of PSG? The club’s Qatari owners were bitterly disappointed by a league campaign that saw the team lose five and draw six of their 38 matches under coach Unai Emery. A Champions League exit in disastrous style – beaten 6-1 in Barcelona after winning the home tie 4-0 – did nothing to lighten the mood, either. Emery is still in charge after receiving the dreaded vote of confidence but the club’s ambitions have yet to be matched by performances, especially in Europe.
The veteran Brazilian full-back Dani Alves joined from Juventus, while the only other early arrival in Paris was left-back Yuri Berchiche from Real Sociedad, prompting surprise among some pundits that PSG’s Qatari owners had not attempted to spend their way back to the top. News of a spectacular world-record deal for Neymar has dramatically shifted the parameters of PSG’s season. The ramifications of the deal are likely to be felt around Europe for many years to come.
Nice will hope to build on the momentum they gained last season when finishing a creditable third under Lucien Favre and they have picked up veteran right-back Christophe Jallet on a free from Lyon, as well as bringing in midfielders Jean-Victor Makengo from Caen and Pierre Lees-Melou from Dijon. But it’s hard to see these admittedly solid
signings turning the team into genuine title contenders.
Lyon – the PSG of 10 years ago – finished fourth last time out, but they have lost three key players in the close season. Besides Jallet, playmaker Corentin Tolisso has joined Bayern Munich and striker Alexandre Lacazette moved to Arsenal. Lyon have made a transfer surplus of over £50m from close-season trading, despite bringing in six new players, including Bertrand Traore from Chelsea and Mariano Diaz from Real Madrid.
France’s other big hitter, Marseille, will expect to push on from last season’s fifth place under coach Rudi Garcia. The south-coast club has also been busy in the transfer market, with striker Valere Germain arriving from Monaco and international defender Adil Rami returning to his home country from Sevilla. Garcia is a canny, proven coach and with American money behind him don’t be surprised to see OM mounting a more serious challenge this campaign.
Interesting moves elsewhere include Dijon striker Lois Diony’s switch to Saint-Etienne, Gael Kakuta’s arrival at promoted Amiens, Enzo Crivelli’s move from Bordeaux to Angers after a fine season on loan at Bastia and the departure of Adam Ounas from Bordeaux to Napoli.
All in all, given the exodus of players from the Principality club and PSG’s ever-growing ambitions, you wouldn’t bet against the capital club regaining their place as France’s premier outfit this term.