PSG declared French league champion as season ends early

Paris Saint-Germain was declared champion of the French soccer league on Thursday after the season ended early because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement from the league followed the French government’s decision on Tuesday to call off the soccer and rugby seasons in the country and end plans to resume.

The top two divisions in French soccer had 10 rounds of matches left to play. PSG led second-place Marseille by 12 points and played one game less.

Marseille qualified directly for the Champions League while third-place Rennes enters the qualifying rounds.

At the bottom of the standings, last-place Toulouse and 19th-place Amiens were relegated while second-division leader Lorient and second-place Lens were promoted. The relegation-promotion playoff between the team in 18th place in the first division and the team in third in the second division was scrapped.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas had reportedly argued for a playoff system to complete the league season. His team finished in seventh place and missed out on the Champions League.

PSG has won nine league titles, moving even with rival Marseille and one behind French record-holder Saint-Étienne. PSG has won all but one championship since 2013, with the exception being Monaco’s title in 2017. The other titles for PSG were in 1986 and ’94.

PSG striker Kylian Mbappé finished as the top scorer for the second straight season, although this time he is tied with Monaco forward Wissam Ben Yedder with 18 goals. PSG winger Ángel Di María had the most assists with 14, ahead of Monaco forward Islam Slimani with eight.

While PSG has reached the Champions League quarterfinals, Lyon was unable to play its second leg against Juventus in Turn after winning 1-0 at home in the last 16.

It remains unclear whether the Champions League will be completed and where games involving French teams would be played if it does resume.