Dubai Telegraph - PSG win 13th French title ahead of Aston Villa Champions League clash

EUR -
AED 4.172469
AFN 82.254285
ALL 99.443091
AMD 442.669245
ANG 2.033568
AOA 1042.821867
ARS 1220.13733
AUD 1.80657
AWG 2.044748
AZN 1.935661
BAM 1.955664
BBD 2.288841
BDT 137.74043
BGN 1.961167
BHD 0.42777
BIF 3370.065862
BMD 1.135971
BND 1.496896
BOB 7.833456
BRL 6.659749
BSD 1.133621
BTN 97.596219
BWP 15.810902
BYN 3.709842
BYR 22265.033118
BZD 2.277042
CAD 1.575536
CDF 3265.353315
CHF 0.926352
CLF 0.02877
CLP 1119.192243
CNY 8.283619
CNH 8.27647
COP 4910.258856
CRC 581.659589
CUC 1.135971
CUP 30.103234
CVE 110.25734
CZK 25.124845
DJF 201.665989
DKK 7.469696
DOP 70.015136
DZD 149.546094
EGP 58.259952
ERN 17.039566
ETB 147.302266
FJD 2.589451
FKP 0.870523
GBP 0.868347
GEL 3.135724
GGP 0.870523
GHS 17.570779
GIP 0.870523
GMD 81.226307
GNF 9813.318212
GTQ 8.743393
GYD 237.163523
HKD 8.810422
HNL 29.369959
HRK 7.534333
HTG 148.329695
HUF 409.938323
IDR 19081.076584
ILS 4.222235
IMP 0.870523
INR 97.663012
IQD 1484.996829
IRR 47824.382762
ISK 145.295033
JEP 0.870523
JMD 179.687516
JOD 0.805522
JPY 163.035006
KES 146.799801
KGS 99.341107
KHR 4541.684463
KMF 499.263598
KPW 1022.294878
KRW 1614.4251
KWD 0.348107
KYD 0.944734
KZT 585.8193
LAK 24559.293723
LBP 101571.343247
LKR 338.136508
LRD 226.724248
LSL 21.868981
LTL 3.354228
LVL 0.687138
LYD 6.299562
MAD 10.546067
MDL 20.093604
MGA 5113.644725
MKD 61.530725
MMK 2385.0762
MNT 3994.555643
MOP 9.055971
MRU 44.687895
MUR 49.87338
MVR 17.498202
MWK 1965.663434
MXN 23.067966
MYR 5.023837
MZN 72.60034
NAD 21.868981
NGN 1814.225757
NIO 41.717102
NOK 12.117749
NPR 156.154151
NZD 1.949496
OMR 0.437393
PAB 1.133621
PEN 4.231206
PGK 4.684675
PHP 64.754939
PKR 317.835518
PLN 4.289579
PYG 9069.369898
QAR 4.133413
RON 4.979761
RSD 117.211857
RUB 94.489935
RWF 1633.886484
SAR 4.263339
SBD 9.490317
SCR 16.273869
SDG 682.154808
SEK 11.102759
SGD 1.499032
SHP 0.892695
SLE 25.877842
SLL 23820.746739
SOS 647.85499
SRD 42.083228
STD 23512.307787
SVC 9.919311
SYP 14769.561249
SZL 21.857481
THB 38.057346
TJS 12.316644
TMT 3.975899
TND 3.411763
TOP 2.660562
TRY 43.085154
TTD 7.708464
TWD 36.779567
TZS 3038.088926
UAH 46.92884
UGX 4165.710584
USD 1.135971
UYU 49.176583
UZS 14700.978637
VES 87.603875
VND 29259.775028
VUV 140.62449
WST 3.205325
XAF 655.91143
XAG 0.035182
XAU 0.000351
XCD 3.070019
XDR 0.815743
XOF 655.91143
XPF 119.331742
YER 278.657784
ZAR 21.729241
ZMK 10225.106937
ZMW 31.995777
ZWL 365.782223
  • RBGPF

    62.0100

    62.01

    +100%

  • RELX

    0.1000

    49.12

    +0.2%

  • VOD

    0.2800

    8.73

    +3.21%

  • SCS

    -0.0300

    10.18

    -0.29%

  • NGG

    2.4700

    68.06

    +3.63%

  • GSK

    1.0400

    34.64

    +3%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    9.12

    -0.11%

  • AZN

    1.4200

    66.29

    +2.14%

  • CMSD

    -0.3000

    21.9

    -1.37%

  • RIO

    1.9900

    56.86

    +3.5%

  • CMSC

    -0.3500

    21.8

    -1.61%

  • BCE

    0.3800

    21.36

    +1.78%

  • BCC

    0.9800

    95.66

    +1.02%

  • BP

    0.3600

    26.59

    +1.35%

  • BTI

    1.0200

    41.57

    +2.45%

  • JRI

    0.1450

    11.91

    +1.22%

PSG win 13th French title ahead of Aston Villa Champions League clash
PSG win 13th French title ahead of Aston Villa Champions League clash / Photo: FRANCK FIFE - AFP

PSG win 13th French title ahead of Aston Villa Champions League clash

Paris Saint-Germain clinched the Ligue 1 title on Saturday with a 1-0 win at home against Angers as they prepare for a Champions League quarter-final showdown with Aston Villa.

Text size:

PSG needed just a draw at home to their struggling opponents to be confirmed as champions again, having started the day a huge 21 points clear of nearest challengers Monaco with seven matches left.

Desire Doue's strike early in the second half decided the game in PSG's favour, allowing Luis Enrique's team to take the title with six matches still to play.

It is a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title for the club from the French capital and their 11th in the last 13 seasons, highlighting the extent to which they have dominated domestically since being taken over by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011.

Their overall tally of 13 French league titles is three more than Saint-Etienne, who are the next most successful club with 10 but have not been champions since 1981.

Marseille have won nine titles, while Nantes and Monaco have each been champions on eight occasions.

The extent to which winning the French league has become a routine exercise for the Parisian outfit helps explain why celebrations were far from excessive on a beautiful spring day in the city.

However, Luis Enrique was raised aloft by members of his coaching staff while the PSG players undertook a lap of honour of the Parc des Princes pitch.

The trophy ceremony will take place at a later date, with PSG maintaining their focus on the European clash with Villa, who visit the Parc des Princes for the first leg of their quarter-final on Wednesday, before the return in England on April 15.

- Unbeaten season? -

However, PSG have another objective in their sights in the league, one which would make this title triumph stand out above all others.

They remain undefeated after 28 matches, with 23 wins and just five draws, and are on course to become the first team to complete a Ligue 1 campaign without losing a game.

The closest any French side has come to an unbeaten season remains Nantes, who went undefeated through their first 32 games before losing their only game on the way to winning the title in 1994/95.

That was a 38-game season, while PSG will only play 34 matches in this campaign, with the league having recently been reduced from 20 clubs to 18.

They will not play again in Ligue 1 until a home meeting with struggling Le Havre on April 19, with next week's trip to Nantes postponed to April 22 in order to allow PSG to recover in between the two legs of their tie against Villa.

Ousmane Dembele, PSG's top scorer with 32 goals in all competitions this season, was rested at kick-off against Angers, having netted twice in the 4-2 midweek win over second-tier Dunkerque in the semi-finals of the French Cup.

Bradley Barcola, the team's second-top marksman on 18 goals, was also left out of the starting line-up and it was far from a vintage performance by the home side.

They were perhaps fortunate early on when Angers forward Esteban Lepaul ran through on goal before being outmuscled by Willian Pacho, the challenge a fair one in the eyes of the referee.

Doue was on hand to convert from a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia cross 10 minutes into the second half as he scored his 11th goal in all competitions since signing from Rennes at the start of the season.

That proved enough for PSG to win the game and take the title, maintaining Luis Enrique's record of having won every domestic trophy since he took over prior to last season.

Monaco are in action later away to Brest, while Lyon host Lille in Saturday's other Ligue 1 game, a key encounter in the fight for Champions League qualification.

W.Zhang--DT