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- The top three qualify for the group stage of the Champions League, and the fourth team grabs a spot in the qualifying rounds
- Having won the league with six games to spare, PSG are hoping for their first ever treble, after also qualifying for the Champions League and French Cup final
AP PARIS: Marseille and Monaco sealed spots in next season鈥檚 Champions League while Ligue 1 champion Paris Saint-Germain beat last-placed Montpellier 4-1 with a Goncalo Ramos hat trick on Saturday.
On the penultimate matchday of the season, Mason Greenwood鈥檚 19th league goal in the 85th minute put second-placed Marseille back in the lead at struggling Le Havre. Amine Gouiri scored twice and Marseille won away 3-1.
Lagging one point behind Marseille, Monaco sealed their 18th win 鈥� 2-0 over Lyon 鈥� with goals from Takumi Minamino and Denis Zakaria and was also guaranteed to finish among the three best teams. The top three qualify for the group stage of the Champions League, and the fourth team grabs a spot in the qualifying rounds.
Gouiri scored Marseille鈥檚 opener after halftime and the match was stopped soon after because of crowd trouble. Pressing to remain in the top flight next season, Le Havre pushed hard for an equalizer and got it when Issa Soumar茅 beat goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli from Josue Casimir鈥檚 assist.
Greenwood鈥檚 superb curled strike from outside the box put the visitors back on track and Gouiri gave more luster to the win in added time on the break.
鈥淎t the start of the season, we had trouble playing at the Velodrome, the ball was hot and we were shaking a bit,鈥� Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi said. 鈥淲e talked about it. The aim was to stay together, united, without putting football first. We put other things first. We spent some time together. We worked a lot on uniting the team and that showed on the pitch. We saw a family and with that we have a better chance of winning.鈥�
After getting past Arsenal midweek to reach the Champions League final, PSG coach Luis Enrique rested seven players: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Nuno Mendes, Willian Pacho, Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha.
Senny Mayulu, an 18-year-old midfielder, was given a start and did not disappoint to put PSG ahead before halftime with a powerful strike. Ramos made it 2-0 off a deflection, and added another goal from the spot.
Having won the league with six games to spare, PSG are hoping for their first ever treble. In addition to the Champions League final against Inter Milan on May 31, Enrique鈥檚 team will have another shot at more silverware against Reims the week before in the French Cup final.
Behind Marseille and Monaco, three teams were level on points; Nice, Lille and Strasbourg, who all lost on Saturday. Seventh-placed Lyon can still aim for the fourth spot but will need to win against Angers hoping that the trio of teams all lose.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of regret, anger and disappointment,鈥� Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette said. 鈥淲e feel sorry for all the fans who believed in us. We鈥檝e made mistakes all season, but also tonight.鈥�
Saint-Etienne still alive
At the bottom of the standings, last-placed Montpellier were already demoted. There was still a glimmer of hope for Saint-Etienne, who won at Reims 2-0. Saint-Etienne remained in the relegation zone but just one point behind 16th-placed Le Havre, who were in the relegation playoffs spot.