Author: Monojit Mandal
PSG 1-1 Strasbourg
Paris Saint-Germain set a new French record by winning their 11th league championship. With just one game left to play, Lionel Messi’s goal in a 1-1 draw against Strasbourg gave PSG the title and a four-point lead over Lens.
PSG surpassed Saint-Etienne’s previous record of 10 trophies, won in 1981, to consolidate their position as the most prosperous team in French soccer. Under former manager Mauricio Pochettino, the team tied the record the previous year, before achieving this amazing feat. With nine trophies in the last 11 seasons, since becoming Qatari-owned, PSG has dominated French soccer for the last ten years.
PSG coach Christophe Galtier acknowledged the difficulty of winning a league championship in his post-match comments. He cited the difficulties faced by the reigning champions in the European leagues this season. Galtier emphasized that even for a team like Paris Saint-Germain, winning the championship should not be taken for granted.
PSG had a six-point lead over Lens going into the penultimate weekend of the season and had a better goal difference. Even with a defeat, PSG would have won the title if Lens had made a mistake. However, PSG ended up needing a draw against Strasbourg after Lens beat relegated Ajaccio 3-0.
Just before the hour mark, Kylian Mbappe provided the assist for Lionel Messi to score his 16th goal of the Ligue 1 season, which turned out to be the decisive moment of the game. PSG’s lead was short-lived, however, as Kevin Gameiro, the former Paris striker, equalized the game with just 11 minutes remaining, taking advantage of a rebound after Morgan Sanson had saved a shot from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Although PSG had a fantastic start to the season and were unbeaten in all competitions until the World Cup, they had a difficult start to 2023, losing six of their first 17 league games. They also lost to Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League and were eliminated at the same point from the French Cup.
Following these results, coach Christophe Galtier, who led Lille to the title two years ago, has been the subject of rumors about his future.