While unfulfilled expectations of success in Europe have left many Paris Saint-Germain fans feeling down about the overall campaign in 2021-22, their league season is still on course to finish with silverware.
The club may be out of the Champions League as well as the domestic cup competitions, but PSG sit well clear at the top of the Ligue 1 table, and they can claim the crown on Wednesday with a win and some help.
Even if that does not come to pass, it's surely a matter of when, not if, the French capital club will confirm their eighth league title in the past 10 seasons.
So, what exactly will it take to assure PSG's Ligue 1 title for the 2021-22 campaign? Here's all you need to know about what Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and their Parisian teammates need to do to lift the trophy.
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Ligue 1 standings updated
PSG have a massive 15-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 standings, meaning it's only a matter of time until they secure the league crown.
Behind them, a fierce Champions League battle is raging, as Marseille sit in second on 59 points, only three points ahead of third-placed Rennes.
The top three finishers in Ligue 1 earn Champions League places.
| Place | Team | PTS | GP | GD | Next Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | PSG | 74 | 32 | +42 | @ Angers, Apr. 20 |
| 2. | Marseille | 59 | 32 | +21 | vs. Nantes, Apr. 20 |
| 3. | Rennes | 56 | 32 | +35 | @ Strasbourg, Apr. 20 |
| 4. | Nice | 54 | 32 | +14 | @ Monaco, Apr. 20 |
| 5. | Strasbourg | 53 | 32 | +19 | vs. Rennes, Apr. 20 |
| 6. | Monaco | 53 | 32 | +16 | vs. Nice, Apr. 20 |
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What do PSG need to win Ligue 1?
The magic number PSG need to win the title is four.
That is the number of points they need to gain on second-placed Marseille to be mathematically certain of being champions.
Marseille, who sit on 59 points with six matches remaining, can only gain a maximum possible points tally of 77.
With PSG already on 74 ahead of Wednesday's trip to Angers, a win in that game would mean they could only be eclipsed on goal difference.
They would then need just a point at home to Lens on Saturday to be guaranteed the title.
However, if PSG were to win at Angers and Marseille were to drop points at home to Nantes, the title would also be heading to Paris.
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PSG Ligue 1 title history
Paris Saint-Germain have won nine league titles in the club's history, with nearly all of those coming in the last decade.
Thanks to massive investment from the club's Qatari ownership, PSG has been transformed into one of the most recognisable and competitive clubs in Europe.
They won a pair of league titles previously, first in 1985-86 and then again in 1993-94, but the other seven have all come in the last 10 years, and many came in absolutely dominant fashion.
PSG have won the league by a double-figure point margin five times, including a massive 31-point victory in 2015-16.
PSG French Ligue 1 titles
| Season | Points | Runner-up | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 68 | Marseille | 12pts |
| 2018-19 | 91 | Lille | 16pts |
| 2017-18 | 93 | Monaco | 13pts |
| 2015-16 | 96 | Lyon | 31pts |
| 2014-15 | 83 | Lyon | 8pts |
| 2013-14 | 89 | Monaco | 9pts |
| 2012-13 | 83 | Marseille | 12pts |
| 1993-94 | 59 | Marseille | 8pts |
| 1985-86 | 56 | Nantes | 3pts |
French league title winners all-time by club
| CLUB | No. of Ligue 1 Titles | Runners-up | Last Title Win |
| Marseille | 10 | 13 | 2009-10 |
| Saint-Etienne | 10 | 3 | 1980-81 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 9 | 9 | 2019-20 |
| Monaco | 8 | 7 | 2016-17 |
| Nantes | 8 | 7 | 2000-01 |
| Lyon | 7 | 5 | 2007-08 |
| Bordeaux | 6 | 9 | 2008-09 |
| Lille | 6 | 7 | 2020-21 |
| Reims | 6 | 3 | 1961-62 |
How Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe moved PSG towards to the 2021-22 Ligue 1 title
PSG went top of the Ligue 1 table on Matchday 3 and have stayed there ever since.
Despite failures through knockout competition, PSG have faced little resistance atop the Ligue 1 table.
The club had just a single loss in the league through mid-February, and while a few indifferent results since then saw them finally drop points, Mauricio Pochettino's side opened up a significant enough gap to create plenty of room for error.
PSG have been clinical against the bottom two-thirds of the French top flight, and kept the other big clubs at bay with key draws, before beating Marseille 2-1 on Apr. 17 to take a giant step towards the title.
While Lionel Messi hasn't produced nearly what his Barcelona career suggested he could provide, and Neymar was injured for almost the entire first half of the season, Kylian Mbappe has made sure the club stayed atop the league.
Those deficiencies proved critical in knockout competition this season, but across a full league season they have had far too much talent to be troubled.
PSG key 2021-22 Ligue 1 results
| Date | Result | |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 11, 2021 | PSG 4, Clermont Foot 0 | Highlights |
| Sept. 19, 2021 | PSG 2, Lyon 1 | Highlights |
| Sept. 22, 2021 | Metz 1, PSG 2 | Highlights |
| Oct. 15, 2021 | PSG 2, Angers 1 | Highlights |
| Oct. 29, 2021 | PSG 2, Lille 1 | Highlights |
| Dec. 12, 2021 | PSG 2, Monaco 0 | Highlights |
| Feb. 6, 2022 | Lille 1, PSG 5 | Highlights |
| Feb. 11, 2022 | PSG 1, Stade Rennes 0 | Highlights |
| Apr. 3, 2022 | PSG 5, Lorient 1 | Highlights |
| Apr. 9, 2022 | Clermont Foot 1, PSG 6 | Highlights |
| Apr. 17, 2022 | PSG 2, Marseille 1 | Highlights |
What other trophies can PSG win in 2021-22?
Sadly, other than the league crown, PSG are out of contention in all other major competitions.
They were famously eliminated in the Champions League by Real Madrid in the Round of 16, holding a 1-0 first-leg lead and scoring early in the second leg to go 2-0 up, before collapsing to a Karim Benzema miracle hat-trick.
In the domestic cup competitions, it did not go well for PSG either. They fell 1-0 to Lille back in August in the Trophee des Champions, and wer knocked out in the Coupe de France Round of 16 by Nice on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
The Coupe de la Ligue was suspended by the French soccer governing body after the 2019-20 edition of the competition to reduce the soccer schedule, and therefore is not being contested this season.
