PSG are champions but the drama has only begun for Ligue 1’s other 17 clubs

PSG have already been crowned Ligue 1 champions but there is no chance of the season petering out. As May approaches, the word “permutations” makes its annual appearance in the footballing lexicon, bringing with it a sense of powerlessness and paranoia. The relationship between a club’s onfield performances and success is complicated – everything becomes contingent upon what is happening elsewhere and words heard uttered through hand-held radios or notifications popping-up on smartphone screens can engender hopelessness or euphoria in equal measure.

This is usually reserved for the final day of the season but it has already been reached in Ligue 1 with three rounds of games to play. Deciphering the various scenarios in the league feels like solving a Rubik’s cube – each time you think you have resolved the puzzle, it reverts into its muddled form.

Bar PSG, all the other 17 teams in the league still have something to play for this season, be it challenging for a place in Europe or securing their status in the top flight for next season. Montpellier even find themselves in an incredible position where both are possibilities – they are 12th in the table and are almost as likely to be playing in the Europa Conference League next season as they are in Ligue 2. Neither eventuality is probable but the mere possibility shows how intense the competition is in France’s top flight this season.

Goals – and lots of them – are a by-product of this unusually intense and highly contested run-in. With no dead rubbers, teams are desperate for results, and it shows. The games this weekend produced an average of 4.44 goals, the highest total since the 1979-80 season. Every team scored in the matchday for the first time since 1976.

There were nine goals alone in the Breton derby, Brest winning 5-4 at Rennes. Lillian Brassier’s 96th-minute winner means Brest will play in Europe football next season. “Stade Brestois, Coupe d’Europe’’ to the tune of Endor’s Pump It Up resonated around Roazhon Park at full time. The sense of achievement was palpable with Eric Roy in reflective mood as he looked back on his side’s “incredible” journey.

“Last year, we ensured our safety with three games remaining. Twelve months later, three matches from the end, we have qualified for European competition,” said the Brest manager. With three games to go, their aim is to hold on to third place and qualify for the group stage of next season’s Champions League. They remain one-point above Lille, who beat Metz 2-1 at the weekend.

Roy’s side even have second place in their sights after Monaco slipped up, losing 3-2 to a resurgent Lyon in a thrilling encounter at the Groupama Stadium. “This was not our round because Brest won in the last minute but everything is in our hands,” said Monaco manager Adi Hütter, acutely aware of his rivals closing in.

Monaco play Clermont Foot next weekend. Ligue 1’s bottom side have hope themselves thanks to a stunning 4-1 victory over Reims. “I am embarrassed,” said Reims manager Will Still after the match. “I feel like such an idiot. It’s the worst day of my career and the most difficult one to accept.” Despite the defeat, his injury-hit side remains in European contention.

Clermont are just four points behind 15th-placed Le Havre, who earned a crucial point by drawing 3-3 with PSG on Saturday, delaying the title celebrations for a little under 24 hours. The result means Le Havre are now out of the relegation zone on goal difference.

PSG’s focus was naturally elsewhere given they travel to Germany for a Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night. Luis Enrique’s jibe of “we are the champions” after the match, while not factually correct at the time, typified his team’s blasé approach to league matches in recent weeks. This approach has been forgiven by many – albeit not all – of those in a position of power within the French game.

PSG have steamrolled their way to a third successive Ligue 1 title and their 10th since QSI took the helm in 2011. While their focus is on making that domestic dominance translate into success in the Champions League, Ligue 1’s chasing peloton will be looking to reel in Luis Enrique’s side next season. However, football is not cycling, and this peloton will not work together to achieve a collective goal. Teams in the Ligue 1 peloton have vied for position all season, taking points off each other. While it has made for an entertaining battle for the European places, it has also allowed PSG to get away. A chasing group will have to emerge next season and the candidates to be a part of that group are plentiful.

Talking points

Stade Brestois will host European football next season but they may not do so in Brest. The club’s weary Stade Francis-Le Blé, which was heavily damaged in Storm Ciarán last November, does not meet Uefa’s criteria, with their “tubular” deconstructable stands in violation of regulation. In an official statement, Brest sought to allay fears, stating that no decision had yet been taken by Uefa, adding that the club is pleading its case, by sending a file showing the quality of the stands, as well as a video, in a desperate attempt to receive an exemption. Should they fail to do so, two options remain: play in front of just 5,000 fans at the club’s home, or play their games elsewhere, just as Union Berlin did this season. Neither option screams “magic of the cup”.

If PSG thought they would get widespread acclaim for their Ligue 1 triumph, they were wrong. They have not exactly been making friends in recent weeks. Luis Enrique’s heavy squad rotation in league games may have facilitated progress in the Champions but it has infuriated rivals. Earlier in April, Le Havre president Jean-Michel Roussier accused PSG of showing “contempt” for the league and “taking the piss out of people’’ after fellow relegation strugglers Clermont Foot took an unlikely point at the Parc des Princes.

However, Le Havre were themselves on the receiving end of some favourable rotation at the weekend, with Kylian Mbappé on the bench and players such as Gianluigi Donnarumma, Lucas Hernández, Nuno Mendes and Fabián Ruiz not even included in the matchday squad. A 3-3 draw was enough to take Le Havre out of the relegation zone, with Metz taking their spot in the relegation play-off place. “It’s the second time it’s happened,” complained Metz manager Laszlo Bölöni after a 2-1 defeat to Lille. “How can I express myself? Who can talk about it? Maybe it’s intelligent if I just shut up,” he added, before admitting to being “annoyed” by Luis Enrique’s squad selection. With Metz facing PSG on the final day of the season, Bölöni will be hoping for similar treatment.