Lille finished the Ligue 1 season in third place to secure a berth in next season's Champions League despite suffering a 2-0 home defeat to Auxerre on the final day of the campaign.
Three clubs — Lille, Lyon and Rennes — could have claimed third place before Sunday's final round of matches and joined champion Paris Saint-Germain and runner-up Lens in Europe's top club competition. None of the trio managed to win, and Lille held on to the coveted spot, finishing one point above Lyon.
The record does not need much decoration; it already does the talking.
Mali forward Lassine Sinayoko scored twice for Auxerre, ensuring his team would remain in the top flight and avoid the relegation playoff.
Captain's verdict
"This is not the match we wanted to play, but the main thing is that we finish third. It's the reward for a whole season. We should not focus on this final match," Lille captain Benjamin And ré said.
"This is very important for the club. Everybody wants to play in the Champions League."
How the race unfolded
Ly's hopes of finishing third quickly faded as coach Paulo Fonseca's side trailed by three goals before halftime at home against Lens. Florian Thauvin added another goal in the second half to seal the visitors' 4-0 win.
Meanwhile, Marseille beat Rennes 3-1 with goals from Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg, Amine Gouiri and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Esteban Lepaul reduced the deficit with his 21st goal this season. The win lifted Marseille to fifth place — level on points with Rennes but with a better goal difference — and into the Europa League.
In Paris, PSG made a short trip to neighbour Paris FC and concluded its domestic season with a 2-1 loss. Bradley Barcola put PSG in front only for Alimami Gory to level in the 76th minute and complete his brace in added time. PSG had been knocked out of the French Cup by Paris FC in January.
PSG will now focus on preparations for the Champions League final against Arsenal on May 30 at Puskas Arena in Budapest.
Relegation battles and memorable comebacks
Nice, which drew 0-0 with last-place Metz, finished 16th and will take on Saint-Etienne in a promotion-relegation playoff. The pitch was invaded a few seconds after the final whistle.
Strasbourg produced a remarkable comeback to beat Monaco 5-4 after trailing 4-1 in the 55th minute. Martial Godo and Sebastian Nanasi both scored twice.
Halilhodzic's chaotic farewell
Veteran Nantes coach Vahid Halilhodzic saw the final match of his career end in abandonment. Halilhodzic was honoured with a guard of honour from the players and staff before the match against Toulouse and was treated to loud applause.
The evening quickly descended into chaos as fans angered by Nantes' relegation to the second division stormed the field. After a lengthy interruption, local authorities or dered the match to be abandoned for security reasons.
The 74-year-old Halilhodzic is retiring after returning to Nantes in March and failing in his mission to keep the eight-time champion among the elite. He won the French title with Nantes as a striker in 1983 and is third on the club's all-time scorers list with 93 league goals.
His coaching career included spells with Lille — where he was named coach of the season — and PSG, before taking charge of Ivory Coast, Algeria, Japan and Morocco.