Ligue 1 2022/23 season came with less of a shocker as Paris Saint-Germain were crowned Champions for the 9th time in a row.
But that is not all, the French giants have also won Ligue 1 for the 11th time in their history after they were crowned champions.
However, the season saw four clubs relegated from the French Top-Flight side and they are Nantes, Troyes, Ajaccio, and Angers.
Despite the league matches remaining with just one more to go, these four clubs have already been relegated to division two.
Four teams will be going down this year because of the decision to reduce the number of clubs in the top tier from 20 down to 18 from the start of next season.
This means that there will only be two clubs who are to be promoted from the French Ligue 2.
Nantes who finished 17th in the league table were unable to win a league match for more than three months, the Canaries are returning to Ligue 2, 10 years after leaving it.
Nantes’s last match was against LOCS Lille away which they lost 2-1 to the Lille side that is playing their ticket to the European Cup.
They only won 6 matches, drew 15, and lost 16 and they scored 36 goals (42.0 Expected Goals (xG)) and conceded 55 goals (51.4 Expected Goals against (xGA)).
The top scorer for Nantes in the 2022/23 French Ligue 1 is Mostafa Mohamed with 8 goals (6.85 xG) and they also played a part of this season in the UEFA Europa League.
Their last match of the season is on 3 Jun 2023 against relegation neighbors Angers, and the result will change nothing.
The French side won only 4 matches, drew 11, and lost 22, they scored 44 goals (36.4 Expected Goals (xG)) and conceded 80 goals (73.6 Expected Goals against (xGA)).
The top scorer for Troyes in the 2022/23 French league is Mama Baldé with 12 goals (10.14 xG).
They faced relegation rivals Angers, in a match they lost 2-1 and their last match will be against Lille at Stade de l’Aub on June 3rd.
Ajaccio is another relegated team, who are currently 19th in the 2022/23 French Ligue 1, on same points with Troyes.
Ajaccio only won 6 matches, drew 5, and lost 26 and they have scored 22 goals (32.6 Expected Goals (xG)) and conceded 74 goals (47.5 Expected Goals against (xGA)).
The top scorers for Ajaccio in the 2022/23 French Ligue 1 with 6 goals are Mounaim El Idrissy (6.08 xG) and Youcef Belaïli (6.81 xG).
Despite their poor season, they lost to Lens 3-0 in their last match and are set to play Marseille in their final season fixture on June 3rd.
Ligue 1 side Angers are bottom sitters in the league this season as they currently sit in the 20th position.
They have only won 4 matches, drawn 6, and lost 27 and have 33 goals (38.9 Expected Goals (xG)) and conceded 80 goals (61.3 Expected Goals against (xGA)).
The top scorers for Angers this season with 4 goals are Abdallah Dipo Sima (4.22 xG), Adrien Hunou (6.30 xG) and Nabil Bentaleb (2.68 xG).
Though their last match against relegation neighbors Troyes ended in a win, it was not consequential as they are already relegated.
They are set to play their next fixture on 3 June, 2023, against Nantes at La Beaujoire-Louis-Fonteneau in the French Ligue 1.
Ligue 1 reduced to 18 teams from the 2023/24 season
France’s top-flight league is to be reduced from 20 teams to 18 from the 2023/24 season.
The French professional league (LFP) said in 2021 that over 97% of the votes at its general assembly were in favor of the proposal.
The assembly reached an agreement to reduce the number of sides by relegating four teams from Ligue 1 at the end of the 2022/23 season while only two are promoted from Ligue 2.
The French league has had 18 teams in the past but was last expanded to 20 teams in the 2002/03 season. The current format has the bottom two clubs relegated while the 18th-placed side enters the relegation playoffs.
Vincent Labrune, LFP president, said in a statement: “It’s a very good decision which shows the unity of the players in French football.”
“Above all, it makes it possible to create the conditions for an ambitious reform plan for the future.”
Which Team Have Been Promoted?
Le Havre, Metz, and Bordeaux are the team lining up to be promoted from the French Ligue 1.
The three teams will go into match day 38 with a difference of 3 points and hoping two of them get promoted to the top division.
Le Havre have a better chance of being promoted as they are on 72 points while Metz and Bordeaux are on 69 points respectively.
