Ligue 1 round up: Neymar and Mbappe firing Paris Saint-Germain to another easy title win
Paris Saint-Germain are cantering towards their sixth league title in seven years after a blistering start to the season that has seen Thomas Tuchel’s side win 15 of their 17 league matches. PSG are already 13 points clear of their nearest challenger and can begin to turn their focus towards their Champions League knockout match against Manchester United next year.
Player of the season so far: Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) - 8.41 rating
Despite being asked to play a new central role behind the striker on a number of occasions under Thomas Tuchel this season, Neymar has still been extraordinary in front of goal. The 26-year-old has scored 11 goals and provided five assists in 12 league appearances for the Ligue 1 giants, only team-mate Kylian Mbappe (17) has played a direct hand in move. Neymar also averages more dribbles per game than any other player in Ligue 1 this season (4.3), while only two others are being fouled more times per Ligue 1 game than the Brazil international (3.2). Despite missing five of PSG’s league matches, Neymar has completed at least nine more accurate through balls than any other player in Ligue 1 this season (15) and forged the most clear-cut goalscoring chances (12).
2nd - Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Teji Savanier (Nimes)
Young player of the season so far: Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) - 7.98 rating
Kylian Mbappe finished 2018 with the match-winner against Nantes at the weekend to take his league tally for the season to 13 goals, as many as he managed during the entirety of his first season at the club from 15 fewer appearances. The 20-year-old is the top scorer in Ligue 1 and genuinely looks like the next big superstar in football, ready to take the torch from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Mbappe has only started nine league games this season, to make his achievements even more spectacular this season. He is scoring at a rate of every 71.4 minutes of action.
2nd - Allan Saint-Maximin (Nice), Houssem Aouar (Lyon)
Signing of the season so far: Youcef Atal (Nice)
Youcef Atal was an unknown quantity to most when Nice plucked him Belgium over the summer but the 22-year-old has been a dribble-machine for Patrick Vieira’s side this term. End-product has been lacking from Atal’s performances this season, illustrated by only one goal and no assists in 14 matches but the Algerian is completing 4.2 dribbles per 90 in Ligue 1. While Atal has flattered to deceive in front of goal, the youngster makes up for that with his tremendous work rate off the ball. The right-sided defender averages 2.4 tackles and 2.2 interceptions per league game and is a player to watch for the remainder of the season in France.
2nd - Hatem Ben Arfa (Rennes), Wahbi Khazri (Saint-Etienne)
Surprise Package: Lille
Lille only avoided the relegation play-off spot by one point last season after finishing the season with three wins in their final four matches but are remarkably Paris Saint-Germain’s closest challengers in the league this term, despite investing less than £10m in new players. Nicolas Pepe has been a revelation for Lille this season and Christophe Galtier will struggle to retain his services over the winter break, which could seriously impact their chances of maintaining their form over the second half of the season.
Underachiever: Monaco
Monaco won Ligue 1 in 2016/17 but are now seriously at risk of being relegated. The Principality club are the only team in the last seven years to prevent Paris Saint-Germain from winning the league but things have gone drastically wrong this season. Poor recruitment over the summer and an outrageous number of injuries, combined with the sacking of Leonardo Jardim have left Monaco second from bottom in Ligue 1 at the midway point. Thierry Henry was appointed to try and fire Monaco back up the table but things have got even worse under the Frenchman. Monaco have not been able to call on nearly all of their best players for most of the season and they have already used 34 players, most comprising of teenagers that aren’t ready for first-team football. They desperately need to recover some experience over the winter break otherwise nothing will change.
