Paris (AFP)

Untenable suspense at the top of Ligue 1: Lille, Lyon, Paris SG and Monaco are launching the last 12 days of a historically tight season this weekend, a final sprint in which Marseille, who has just changed president and coach, would like to slip his grain of sand against Lyon on Sunday.

- The number: 10 -

It had been precisely ten years since the Ligue 1 Championship had been so close after 26 days.

In 2011, Lille, Rennes, Lyon and Marseille were only four points at the top of the standings at this period of the Championship, and PSG followed just behind with one point less.

At the time, Rudi Garcia's Losc was crowned.

A decade later, here are four clubs in a pocket handkerchief 12 matches from the end of the season: Lille, impressive leader with 58 points, is three lengths ahead of OL of the same Rudi Garcia.

PSG follows OL at one point and Monaco is not far either, two units behind Paris ...

Everything remains to be done in the coming weeks, even if the Losc holds the rope.

Facing Strasbourg on Sunday (5:00 p.m.), Christophe Galtier's men have one last affordable meeting before a series of shocks (Marseille, Monaco and PSG are on the program by early April).

To give themselves confidence despite their elimination Thursday against Ajax Amsterdam in the round of 16 of the Europa League (2-1, 2-1), the Mastiffs can remember this famous year 2011: in the lead after 26 matches, the Lille had beautifully finished the season, offering themselves the third coronation in their history with in the end eight points ahead of Marseille.

- The shock: Marseille-Lyon -

Big cleaning in Marseille: Friday evening, the owner of the club, the American Frank McCourt, announced "big changes": exit the president Jacques-Henri Eyraud, replaced by Pablo Longoria, and confirmed arrival of the Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli on the Olympian bench.

It is in this context that OM (7th, 38 points) travels Sunday (9:00 p.m.) to Lyon, which thus inaugurates a series of big duels before the receptions of Rennes and PSG, both scheduled for March.

For Lyon, totally focused on L1 where Lille and PSG were still competing in European Cups in recent days, the dream of the title is real and President Jean-Michel Aulas is already salivating.

"I tell myself that it would still be a funny snub, being Franco-French and a local entrepreneur, to succeed in beating these big powers," the leader mischievously slipped in an interview with L'Equipe.

- The player: Kylian Mbappé -

What happened between the formidable performance of PSG in Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League (4-1) and its worrying failure five days later at the Parc des Princes in front of Monaco (2-0)?

Parisians will have to quickly find the answer to this question, and this concerns Kylian Mbappé a lot.

Stratospheric at Camp Nou with three goals, the world champion was non-existent against his former club.

In Dijon, red lantern, Saturday (5:00 p.m.), "Kyky" must raise his head and carry his team at arm's length, still deprived of Neymar and Angel Di Maria.

PSG even saw the list of absent grow longer on Friday: in addition to Leandro Paredes, suspended, Mauro Icardi (gastroenteritis), Alessandro Florenzi (injury to the right adductor) and especially Marco Verratti (shock to the right foot) , one of the fit men of PSG, have withdrawn ...

"We will find solutions," insisted coach Mauricio Pochettino, promising that "the players on the pitch will be up to it".

© 2021 AFP