Ligue 1 à Mi-Parcours: Surprises, Stumbles and Standouts | OneFootball

Ligue 1 has been a league in the past famed for its one-team dominance from Paris Saint-Germain. But so far this season, it has been anything but dominant from the defending French champions.

For the first time in many years, the title race is wide open, and any team from the champions to RC Lens and, potentially, Olympique de Marseille, if Roberto De Zerbi’s men can put together a good run, can climb to the top and win the title.

The race for European football is also heating up by the week, with the likes of Olympique Lyonnais, LOSC Lille, and Stade Rennais among those in the mix to get European football or potentially even Champions League Football potentially.

The Title Race

Before the Ligue 1 season began in August, most people probably expected Paris Saint-Germain to be the top side that would comfortably be leading the way. But based on some inconsistencies in key moments so far this season in Ligue 1, just maybe the hectic schedule of the 2024/25 campaign has caught up to their players’ legs.

Luis Enrique’s side has had injuries to deal with throughout, as well as regularly managing minutes of players every few days with the schedule packed between league and European fixtures.

The likes of Ousmane Dembele and Kvaratschkelia, among others, have probably not quite reached the heights of the displays they put in last season, partly down to the nature of the hectic schedule but also partly due to injury.

For example, when Paris Saint-Germain travelled to Olympique de Marseille for the first Le Classique of the season, they were without the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué, and João Neves. Some will say that they still had a good enough team to beat Marseille, but without those players, they lost a huge chunk of creativity and general attacking output.

Paris Saint-Germain are just one point off top spot, but where they’ve been let down so far in comparison to last season is the away form. They just haven’t quite had the same consistency as they usually do on the road. From their nine away games so far this season, they’ve already lost twice (1-0 vs Marseille and 1-0 vs AS Monaco) and drawn twice (1-1 vs Lille and 1-1 vs FC Lorient). That alone is ten points lost from four games. If they are to retain their crown as French champions, they must fix their away form.

For once, Paris Saint-Germain do at least have a title contender and this season it’s RC Lens who have been pushing the boat out. They have been flying so far this season under Head Coach Pierre Sage, in what is his first season at the club after succeeding Will Still in the summer.

Sage has got his RC Lens team sitting top of Ligue 1, one point ahead of Paris Saint-Germain. But it’s not just that he’s got the team winning, it’s the effectiveness he has them doing it in.

They play a 3-4-3, where two energetic midfielders are really important, as well as the two wing-backs, who are the source of creativity.

Someone in particular who has really stood out in terms of numbers is former Crystal Palace striker Odsonne Edouard. Whilst at Palace, he really struggled to consistently score goals and have the true confidence to go on a run.

He also really suffered at relegated Leicester last season. But this season, he has been on fire for RC Lens, contributing to seven goals and two assists in 14 matches so far this season.

The thing that has been crucial to his impressive performances this season, he is getting into the right areas within the box so he is ready to pounce on opportunities and the wing backs are also directly servicing him to his strengths.

This was showcased during RC Lens’ match against OGC Nice just a few match weeks ago, the left sided wing back Matthieu Udol put in two unbelievable crosses from fairly deep areas on the left side but Odsonne Edouard was sharp and alert to be the first man to get on the end of those which led to the two goals he scored that day.

Another key component to Pierre Sage’s RC Lens side this season has been 23 year old Mali International Mamadou Sangare. He has showcased great balance in the midfield two since he is left footed whilst his midfield partner, often Adrien Thomasson, is right footed. Sangare has also demonstrated he has plenty of energy about him which has been important to the general intensity of how RC Lens play. His performances so far this season have generated talk of interest from Manchester United.

To put into context how good RC Lens have been, since losing to FC Metz at the end of October, they have gone on to win eight consecutive Ligue 1 matches from the start of November to the 17th of January. That has helped them climb up the table all the way to top spot in a good position to battle it out with Paris Saint-Germain for the title.

Olympique de Marseille are still a potential contender for the Ligue 1 title, but compared to RC Lens and Paris Saint-Germain who are neck and neck, Roberto De Zerbi’s side are a little further behind. Currently on 35 points, they are eight points off top spot whilst sitting seven behind rivals Paris Saint-Germain in the Ligue 1 table. The big issue De Zerbi’s side has probably suffered from so far this season is that in key moments, they slip up and as a result they give up ground to the two title rivals who have been able to gradually pull away from them.

MARSEILLE, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 25: Olympique de Marseille and Newcastle United players walk out onto the pitch prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD5 match between Olympique de Marseille and Newcastle United FC at Stade de Marseille on November 25, 2025 in Marseille, France. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The start of the season for Olympique de Marseille was a little slow in the opening three matches, losing two and winning one heading into the September International break. They then returned from that International break flying out the blocks winning the next four which included a huge win over Liam Rosenior’s Strasbourg away from home.

They also returned from the October International break by thrashing Le Havre 6-2. But just as things were looking good and they were top of Ligue 1 or around there, they then lost a key game against RC Lens, and that has been the season pattern for Marseille so far.

They then dropped more points the following game against Angers, drawing 2-2 at home. But then went on to win the following three, with the third win in that run, including a demolition job on OGC Nice.

With the adventurous way Roberto De Zerbi likes his sides to play, it comes with significantly high risk defensively but it can also come with significantly great rewards.

For example, the risk you take playing out the back and playing through the lines in such a specific, detailed way can lead to sloppy goals being conceded, and that can give poor outcomes like the Angers game. But do it very well, you can also get a game like OGC Nice away, where you just find pockets of space to run into and exploit effortlessly.

The key thing for Olympique de Marseille heading into the 2nd half of the season, they firstly need to find a balance between defensive and attacking phases of play because defensively is where they’ve struggled which has hindered attacking performance. Then they also need to find a consistent run of form in order to close the gap back to Paris Saint-Germain and RC Lens.

The Race for European Football

Currently, there are at least four or maybe even five sides who are fighting for European football, which includes the Champions League Playoff spot, which is currently occupied by Lille in 4th place. In terms of Champions League football specifically, the battle at this stage is between Lille, Olympique Lyonnais, and Stade Rennais.

You could even include Olympique de Marseille in that, with their inconsistent form dragging them into a potential dog fight for 3rd place.

Lille under Bruno Genesio have enjoyed some really good moments so far this season but they’ve also suffered some quite poor and bad moments as well. The first four games couldn’t have gone any better really, a 3-3 draw on the opening day against Stade Brestois followed up with three consecutive wins which includes a 7-1 hammering against FC Lorient away from home. But from there, they then went on to win none of the following three which included a bruising defeat to their rivals RC Lens.

Since that positive run at the start followed by the three game rut, the story of their season has been quite up and down. They had a big win over FC Metz, winning 6-1 at home. But then they lost games like OGC Nice away, which was 2-0, and recently Stade Rennais at home, also 2-0. Prior to defeat to Stade Rennais, they had won four games on the bounce including a narrow 1-0 win over De Zerbi’s Marseille.

Lille sit 4th, in a good spot. But they’d definitely like to go on a longer run of consistency to not just pull away from the potential dog fight that Olympique Lyonnais and Stade Rennais are looking to bring but to also potentially take 3rd place from Marseille too.

Olympique Lyonnais enjoyed a wonderful start to the season under Paulo Fonseca, losing just once in their first six Ligue 1 matches. In the five wins they picked up, all of those included a clean sheet. Some of the wins included two away wins, one at RC Lens on the opening day and one at Lille in September.

They also beat Olympique de Marseille at home 1-0. But after they beat Lille away from home, they then went on a run where they won just once in the following seven games, which cost them places in the table at that time, where before this run they were among the top sides in Ligue 1.

SEVILLE, SPAIN – NOVEMBER 06: Players of Olympique Lyonnais pose for a team photograph prior to the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD4 match between Real Betis Balompie and Olympique Lyonnais at La Cartuja de Sevilla on November 06, 2025 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

The two big problems they suffered during that run, they lost exciting young winger Malick Fofana to an ankle injury. That was a fairly big chunk of attacking output gone. Then they also lost the defensive stability they had in those five wins in the opening six matches of the season, that cost them crucial points.

However, they have been able to recover a little, even without Malick Fofana. They have been able to win four of their last five games in Ligue 1, conceding just three goals.

Now sitting in 5th, narrowly behind Lille and Olympique de Marseille, Paulo Fonseca hopes that once Malick Fofana returns from injury, they can improve in attack, and he will also hope that his side can maintain a consistent defensive stability. The margins are fine; consistency will be key to whether they get into the Champions League or not.

Stade Rennais have had an interesting season up to now under Habib Beye. They’ve shown so far that they’ve been very hard to beat, with faith put into the youth as well as balancing it out with experience, which is proving to be quite exciting. But at one stage, it wasn’t looking so pretty for Habib Beye and Stade Rennais.

In the opening ten matches of the season, whilst Stade Rennais only suffered one big defeat against Lorient which was 4-0 as well as a narrow loss to OGC Nice which was 2-1, they had only won twice in that spell.

They beat Olympique de Marseille 1-0 on the opening day and also beat Olympique Lyonnais 3-1 in the fourth game of the season. But they drew a whopping six matches, and that left Stade Rennais stuck in mid-table, and at the time, the club’s hierarchy was ready to sack Beye due to the lack of wins.

But, Habib Beye and his team rolled their sleeves up and dug deep to fight for wins and that extra effort certainly helped because after those first ten games, Stade Rennais have gone on to win six of the last eight matches since with the only defeat coming against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes, 5-0 with Jérémy Jacquet being sent off during the 2nd half.

Speaking of which, Jérémy Jacquet has been the standout performer in the Stade Rennais team so far this season. After breaking through in the 2nd half of last season as this dynamically intense and aggressive wide centre back in a back three, this season Habib Beye has adjusted Jacquet’s position to be the centre of the back three and he has more than taken his chance.

So far this season, we have seen a more calm, measured and mature defender who is wiser in decision making. He has been a fantastic player at the back in regards to winning ground and aerial duels, sometimes even making unbelievable recovery tackles to save his team from conceding a goal. There is no surprise why many top clubs in Europe are monitoring him, he is destined to become a top defender.

Just behind those three teams mentioned above in the fight for European football are Strasbourg and Toulouse.

Strasbourg have enjoyed an up and down season so far, with Liam Rosenior leading the side for the first half of the campaign before leaving to take up the Chelsea job. Strasbourg lost just twice in their first eight games, with both being narrow defeats (3-2 away from home against AS Monaco and 2-1 at home against Olympique de Marseille).

One of the games in that run was Paris Saint-Germain away, where Rosenior’s side came away with a point after a six-goal thriller in a 3-3 draw. The main talking point from the match was how bravely he set up his side to press Paris Saint-Germain out of possession, which clearly showed them going man for man all over the pitch. This approach showcased in attacking big rewards, but defensively, with the space that would appear, it also showed high risk.

Gary O’Neil is now the man tasked with leading the side, his first game in charge was a 2-1 win over FC Metz.

Toulouse have also enjoyed a fairly good season so far under their Spanish Head Coach Carles Martinez. Whilst his side had a bit of a slow and inconsistent start to the season, they’ve gradually picked things up to climb up into 8th place, one place below Strasbourg who sit in 7th. Like a few coaches in Ligue 1, Carles Martinez has put great faith in younger players with both Alexis Vossah and Dayann Methalie getting plenty of first team minutes.

The most consistent performer for them has been Charlie Cresswell at the heart of their defence. He has scored three goals, got one assist and has been a solid rock to the stability Martinez has been able to build with Toulouse.

Strasbourg have 27 points whilst Toulouse have 26 points. Both will be hoping they can close the gap to those above them to try grab a Ruropa League spot.

The Big Name Strugglers

Funnily enough, they happen to be rivals. Both AS Monaco and OGC Nice have suffered during this season. AS Monaco sacked their previous Head Coach Adi Hütter after a 2-2 draw against OGC Nice!

Monaco opted to replace the Austrian with young Belgian coach Sébastien Pocognoli, who joined from Union Saint-Gilloise. Whilst his first few games in Ligue 1 saw two wins from three, it has since gone very south since November where Monaco have won just once in their last eight matches (1-0 vs Paris Saint-Germain).

That is six defeats, meaning they’ve picked up just three points from a possible eighteen available and that has left them in ninth where Pocognoli could be under serious pressure if the form doesn’t turn around quickly.

MONACO, MONACO – OCTOBER 01: Eric Dier of Monaco celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with teammates during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD2 match between AS Monaco and Manchester City at Stade Louis II on October 01, 2025 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

OGC Nice have also had their troubles this season, and arguably it’s far worse than what is going on down the road at AS Monaco. They had a relatively positive start to the campaign under Franck Haise. Whilst the opening five games were very inconsistent with a win-loss pattern, they then went on a five game unbeaten run between the end of September and the end of October (three wins and two draws). But as November began, everything unravelled and very quickly fell apart.

VIGO, SPAIN – OCTOBER 23: OGC Nice players line up for the team photos prior to the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD3 match between Real Club Celta and OGC Nice at Estadio Abanca Balaidos on October 23, 2025 in Vigo, Spain. (Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images)

Nice went on to lose six consecutive Ligue 1 matches and it eventually resulted in the dismissal of Franck Haise as Head Coach. But the problems laid far deeper than that. Two of their players, Terem Moffi and Jeremie Boga, were confronted by a large group of supporters after defeat to Lorient and have since said that they want to leave and they’ll never play for the club again. Supporters have also been very angry with its hierarchy, due to a lack of investment, honesty and ambition from owners INEOS.

The former club president, Fabrice Bocquet, left the club after just four months, just a few days prior to Haise being sacked. In came former Head Coach Claude Puel as well as the now current president, Jean-Pierre Rivère, who only left last summer. OGC Nice hope Puel can help bring stability in the short-term by rising back up the table from their current 14th place whilst Jean-Pierre Rivère will bring greater leadership than predecessor Fabrice Bocquet.

The Battle for survival

The current bottom three in Ligue 1 are: FC Nantes (16th, relegation playoff), AJ Auxerre (17th) and FC Metz (18th).

Just six points currently separates rock bottom Metz from 14th place OGC Nice, which highlights how crucial every point is for those down at the bottom end of the table.

FC Nantes have struggled for form, firstly under Luis Castro who was sacked after the side failed to win more than twice in their first fourteen matches, and now under new Head Coach Ahmed Kantari. Whilst he lost his first two games in charge, Nantes picked up a gigantic win over Olympique de Marseille which lifted them up from 17th into 16th. But that joy was only short as Nantes then lost to Paris FC in a massive relegation six pointer.

AJ Auxerre have some good and exciting young ppayers in their squad, but to survive in Ligue 1 they are in desperate need of experience and quality. Whilst someone like Rudy Matondo has enjoyed regular minutes in the top flight, he hasn’t had much experience around him to take some of the pressure off his shoulders to deliver. In the January window, getting in more experience is critical for Auxerre.

PARIS, FRANCE – SEPTEMBER 27: Lucas Beraldo #4 of Paris Saint-Germain controls the ball during the Ligue 1 McDonald’s match between Paris Saint-Germain and AJ Auxerre at Parc des Princes on September 27, 2025 in Paris, France. (Photo by Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images for Qatar Airways)

Very similar can be said about FC Metz who sit rock bottom. They have some experience in comparison to Auxerre, as well as having some great young talent. But something they’ve really lacked is quality. Just like Auxerre, if they want to remain in Ligue 1 beyond this season, it’s critical that in the January transfer window they find quality that can help them survive. Otherwise they are heading straight back down to Ligue 2.

Conclusion

So far this season in Ligue 1, the table has sprung great surprises. But as well as that, young players are thriving and the competition looks more open than it had done in the previous seasons where Paris Saint-Germain at the top totally dominated whilst the others just weren’t anywhere close to competing.

Ligue 1 needs to remain openly competitive, as the 2nd half of this Ligue 1 campaign can be super exciting for all the supporters who are watching.