How PSG can win Ligue 1: What Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe need to secure French league title

Kyle Bonn

How PSG can win Ligue 1: What Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe need to secure French league title image

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.

MORE: What Bayern Munich needs to clinch Bundesliga title

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.

MORE: What Real Madrid need to win La Liga title

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.

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.