Ligue 1 GW 37: 7 key numbers to understand the last days of the French league

Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe celebrate together

Ligue 1 GW 37: 7 key numbers to understand the last days of the French league

Ayoola Kelechi 18:49 - 27.05.2023

Ligue 1 is one week away from winding up, get acquainted with 7 key numbers that give an overview of the season so far

As Ligue 1 draws nearer to its end, the stakes and excitement have also grown, with the league showcasing some incredible football and stories.

Heading into game week 37, we look at some numbers to pay attention to starting with potential champions Paris Saint-Germain.

1

With two games to go, Paris Saint-Germain are a single step away from claiming the 2022/23 Ligue 1 title, despite a season of many negatives.

Les Parisiens have opened up a six-point lead over second-place Lens with two games to go and they will likely still win the league title even if they lose the remaining games thanks to their vastly superior goal difference.

They can confirm their status as champions with a game to spare when they play Strasbourg with as little as one point, giving them at least a four-point advantage over Lens regardless of Les Sang et Ors result against relegated Ajaccio.

11

Winning the 2022/23 Ligue 1 title will also see PSG become the most successful club in the league’s history with their 11th crown.

PSG will move beyond Saint Etienne, with whom they currently share a record of 10 Ligue 1 titles, to become the most victorious team in the professional era of the league.

Les Parisiens had won only two titles before the 2012/13 season, but have won eight of the last 10 league campaigns, experiencing immense success.

Their 11th title will cap their success, leaving them at the top of the Ligue 1 pyramid.

16

In addition to PSG’s Ligue 1 title record, the Paris club has also played host to another record-breaker, with Argentine forward Lionel Messi setting a new assists record in the league.

With 16 assists in 36 game weeks, Messi set a new record for the most assists at that stage of a Ligue 1 campaign.

Despite being viewed as a villain by the PSG supporters, Messi has still enjoyed a solid campaign, contributing to 31 Ligue 1 goals for Les Parisiens, with only Kylian Mbappe being involved in more goals in the league this season.

The Argentine world Cup winner has scored 15 goals and assisted 16 more in Ligue 1 so far this season, and could add to those numbers when PSG play Strasbourg.

Messi can claim the outright record for most assists in a season if he gets three more assists in the remaining two Ligue 1 games to surpass Angel Di Maria’s record of 18.

87

With 87 fouls won, Montpellier’s tricky captain Teji Savanier holds the distinction of being the most fouled player in the league this season.

Savanier has managed to draw fouls more than any other player in Ligue 1, with the next most-fouled player, Ajaccio’s Mounaim El Idrissy trailing him by seven fouls.

In addition to winning the most fouls, Savanier has caused the most cards in Ligue 1 with his total of 13 yellow cards and two red cards caused being the most by a player in the league this season.

566

On a more collective level, Clermont are the side that have been fouled the most in the league this campaign with Les Lanciers players suffering a combined 566 fouls.

No other team in Ligue 1 has suffered up to 500 fouls, with the closest team to Clermont being Montpellier who have suffered 493 fouls.

Clermont are also the most fouled team in Europe’s top five leagues, above Real Betis, Sampdoria, Real Madrid, and Montpellier who make up the rest of the top five.

1000

This season’s Ligue 1 has seen a number of goalscoring milestones from players and clubs who have outdone themselves in attack.

Three clubs in the league have seen their records for individual goals in season fall, while the league has seen as many as five players break the 20-goal mark for the first time.

The end product of this has been seen in Ligue 1’s incredible overall goal production as the league has recorded more than 1000 goals this campaign alone.

It is the third time in a row that Ligue 1 has produced 1000 or more goals in one season, after reaching only three seasons with that many goals in the 40 years prior.

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