Lille ended the Ligue 1 season in third place and secured a Champions League berth, even after falling 2-0 at home to Auxerre on the final day. That is the kind of result that makes table watching more interesting than the performance itself.
Three clubs — Lille, Lyon and Rennes — could have claimed third before Sunday's matches began. None of the trio managed a win, and Lille claimed the spot by one point over Lyon, which drops to Champions League qualifying.
Mali forward Lassine Sinayoko scored both goals for Auxerre, ensuring his club would stay in the top flight and avoid the relegation playoff. Lille captain Benjamin André said: "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. This is very important for the club. Everybody wants to play in the Champions League."
Other final-day results
Lyon lost 4-0 at home to Lens, with Florian Thauvin adding another goal in the second half. Marseille beat Rennes 3-1 with goals from Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg, Amine Gouiri and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Esteban Lepaul pulled one back for Rennes — his 21st goal of the season, making him the league's top scorer. The win lifted Marseille to fifth place, level on points with Rennes but with a better goal difference, earning Europa League qualification.
PSG, already crowned French champion on Wednesday, concluded its domestic campaign with a 2-1 loss to neighbor Paris FC. Bradley Barcola opened the scoring before Alimami Gory leveled in the 76th minute and completed his brace in stoppage time. PSG had been knocked out of the French Cup by Paris FC in January.
Nice drew 0-0 with last-place Metz, finishing 16th and will face Saint-Etienne in a promotion-relegation playoff. 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.
Chaotic ending for Nantes
Nantes' match against Toulouse was abandoned after fans stormed the pitch, angered by the club's relegation to the second division. It was the final match of veteran coach Vahid Halilhodzic's career. The 74-year-old was honored with a guard of honor before kickoff. Some endings get decided off the pitch rather than on it.
Halilhodzic returned to Nantes in March but failed to keep the eight-time champion in Ligue 1. 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.