Europe 1 with AFP 11:32 p.m., February 19, 2023

The favorites held their rank and ensured the show, Sunday in the French championship, with the victories of Marseille, Monaco, Rennes, Lens and Paris SG, overthrowing against Lille (4-3) despite Neymar's injury, one week away. of the classic OM-PSG.

Angers is getting a little closer to Ligue 2.

The Ligue 1 classification is frozen after the 24th day: the five leading teams have all won against less well-ranked formations, and only Stade Rennes (5th) has gained a place in this top 5, to the detriment of Lille (6th).

The podium remains occupied by the Paris-Marseille-Monaco trio, in that order, just ahead of Racing Club de Lens.

However, the Parisian leader has long feared losing his five-point lead at the top of the standings… At the Parc des Princes, victory only took shape in the 94th minute, on a free kick from Lionel Messi.

Previously, the supporters had gone through all the emotions.

Fear and spite, first, with the worrying injury of Neymar, released on a stretcher and victim of a sprained right ankle, already affected at the World Cup in Qatar. 

Then the anger, seeing Lille lead 3-2 and be close to inflicting on PSG a fourth defeat in a row in all competitions, a first for more than twenty years for the capital club.

But it was ultimately happiness and liberation that dominated the end of the game, marked by Kylian Mbappé's double and Messi's final goal.

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OM are scared in Toulouse

PSG fear they have lost Neymar again at the crucial moment of the Champions League season (the Champions League round of 16 return to Bayern Munich is scheduled for March 8), but they finally managed to do violence to themselves and to rediscover faith, with this victory in the form of a click.

"It's not bad luck, there are always reasons: the calendar, the sequence of matches... It complicates things, you have to bend your back, but a bent back with a victory is more pleasant" , reacted coach Christophe Galtier, under pressure for several days.

A week before the classic OM-PSG, on Sunday, the two teams did the job, because Marseille also won, on the lawn of Toulouse, 3-2.

Igor Tudor's players struggled at the Stadium, against a TFC already author of five Championship victories in 2023. Dutchman Thijs Dallinga opened the scoring (3rd) and OM had to wait for the second period to regain their senses. 

Chancel Mbemba, Cengiz Under and Nuno Tavares finally scored for the Marseille club, before Ado Onaiwu reduced the score for the Violets.

It was not necessary to relax for the partners of Alexis Sanchez, because Monaco and Lens remain threatening in the classification, respectively at two and three lengths.

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Lens and Rennes revive

Lens has indeed resumed its march forward after a spectacular match against Nantes (3-1), a victory that is good for Franck Haise's men after four unsuccessful matches.

A little earlier, Monaco had also taken advantage of an affordable poster to sign a fourth success in a row in Ligue 1, in Brest (2-1).

Alexandr Golovin and Myron Boadu scored for ASM.

The Brestois, meanwhile, reacted too late by Jérémy Le Douaron and remain very close to the red zone (16th, 20 points).

Behind the Finisteriens, Troyes was surprised at the end of the match by Montpellier (1-0) and stagnated in 17th place.

Auxerre, winner of Lyon on Friday (2-1), and Ajaccio, largely beaten in Lorient on Sunday (3-0), both have 18 points in 18th and 19th place.

And Angers, 20th ten points behind 16th, seems ever closer to relegation, after their 2-1 defeat in Strasbourg on Saturday.

Much higher in the standings, Rennes regained victory after two defeats, winning 2-0 against Clermont thanks to a brace from Arnaud Kalimuendo.

The Bretons, fifth, are still six points behind the top 4.