PSG Win 13th French Title Ahead of Aston Villa Champions League Clash

PSG's supporters celebrate winning the French League One championship title after the soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Angers at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PSG's supporters celebrate winning the French League One championship title after the soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Angers at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
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PSG Win 13th French Title Ahead of Aston Villa Champions League Clash

PSG's supporters celebrate winning the French League One championship title after the soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Angers at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PSG's supporters celebrate winning the French League One championship title after the soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Angers at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

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.

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 favor, 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.

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 honor 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.

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

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.



F1 on Jeddah’s Streets - Talking Points Ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP

 McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia walks through the paddock ahead of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP)
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia walks through the paddock ahead of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP)
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F1 on Jeddah’s Streets - Talking Points Ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP

 McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia walks through the paddock ahead of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP)
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia walks through the paddock ahead of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP)

This weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is the final leg of the first "triple header" of the season.

From Suzuka in Japan, to the desert of Bahrain, Formula One now pitches up on the shores of the Red Sea in Jeddah.

AFP Sport looks at five talking points ahead of the fifth round of the 24-race season:

Advantage McLaren

Oscar Piastri put in a faultless display from pole last Sunday in Sakhir to make it three wins out of four for the British marque.

That moved the cool as ice Australian to within three points of championship leader and teammate Lando Norris, who took third in Bahrain.

With Max Verstappen, only sixth, and Red Bull struggling to keep tabs on the world constructors' champions, the 2025 title could well develop into a battle between the two McLaren men.

The team has always been insistent on "papaya rules", theoretically meaning no favoritism between the pair, but that even-handed policy will be put under intense pressure if the season develops into a battle between the two gifted drivers.

Looking ahead to Sunday's race Norris commented: "It's a really fast track and we have a quick car, so we'll be aiming to finish this triple-header strongly."

Red Bull to bounce back?

Red Bull's problems in Bahrain were well documented, and they will be desperate to bounce back on one of their favorite hunting grounds, with Max Verstappen winning in Jeddah in 2022 and 2024.

"Bahrain was quite a difficult weekend for us and didn't really go our way at all. We had some issues that set us back and we still have a lot of work to do on the car to get us where we need to be," said the four-time champion.

He slipped to third in the standings, eight points behind Norris, after trailing in over half a minute behind Piastri in Sakhir.

"We have a final push with this being the third race and final weekend of the triple header so hopefully we can find more pace and bring out a performance similar to Japan (his only win of the season)," he added.

The circuit

Sunday's race presents a radically different test for car and driver than last week in Bahrain. The fastest street circuit on the calendar offers multiple chances for overtaking, in stark contrast to the most famous street circuit of them all, Monaco.

With a record 27 corners and three DRS (drag reduction system) zones it can be counted on to serve up plenty of drama, with the walled sides leaving little room for error.

All the ingredients then for a thrilling race under floodlights on Jeddah's Corniche.

Golf in the Gulf for Gasly

Alpine finally got off the ground in Bahrain, with Pierre Gasly picking up their first points of the season in seventh.

"It's great to leave Bahrain with points on the board after three challenging races at the start of the season," reflected the French driver.

He celebrated his bold show by following Rory McIlroy's emotional Masters triumph at Augusta.

"I really enjoyed staying up late to watch the end of the Masters and I'm delighted for Rory McIlroy, one of our investors, to finally secure the green jacket. Congratulations to him!"

Toto praise for Russell

George Russell will be hoping to concentrate on the job he's paid to do -- driving -- rather than as a part-time electrician. The Briton, enjoying his best ever start to a season, took second last Sunday despite a myriad of issues he had to contend with in the cockpit in the closing stages.

"It was a superb drive from him under extreme pressure," marveled Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.

Russell's teammate Kimi Antonelli did not enjoy the rub of the green and finished out of the points for the first time in his debut season.

"It has been easy to forget that Kimi is in the very earliest stages of his F1 career given his performances so far. Bahrain will prove an important milestone in his continued development," Wolff remarked.