Soccer

PSG and Bayern Munich clinch league titles

Tenth French title for the Parisiens but celebrations are muted after European failure

Paris Saint Germain’s Kylian Mbappe Neymar Jr celebrate winning Ligue 1 title. Photograph: Yoan Valat/EPA

Sun Apr 24 2022 - 12:21

Paris St Germain and Bayern Munich both clinched the Ligue 1 and Bundesliga titles respectively on Saturday.

PSG secured a record-equalling 10th French top flight title after stuttering to a 1-1 draw against 10-man RC Lens but the celebrations were rather muted as frustrated fans headed for the Parc des Princes exit immediately after Saturday's final whistle.

Lionel Messi's goal was cancelled out by Corentin Jean as PSG were left on 78 points, 16 ahead of second-placed Olympique de Marseille who will play their game in hand at Stade de Reims on Sunday.

PSG have now won eight of the last 10 Ligue 1 titles, having only been denied by Monaco in 2017 and Lille last year.

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PSG equalled the record set by St Etienne, who won 10 top flight titles between 1957 and 1981.

Sealing the Ligue 1 title, however, was not a cause for celebration for the fans who were still irritated by the club's exit in the last-16 from the Champions League.

PSG were knocked out after squandering a 2-0 aggregate lead in 15 minutes against Real Madrid.

On Saturday, the stadium was empty 10 minutes after the game ended and the players skipped the traditional lap of honour.

Some ultra fans had already left the Parc des Princes 15 minutes before the final whistle.

"It's something I don't understand. In football, you win, you lose. We try with all our heart," said Marco Verratti, the only player to have won eight top flight French titles.

Bayern Munich eased past title rivals Borussia Dortmund 3-1 on Saturday to secure their 10th consecutive Bundesliga crown in front of a sold-out home crowd and with three games to spare.

First-half goals from Serge Gnabry and Robert Lewandowski put the hosts 2-0 up before Emre Can cut the deficit with a 52nd-minute penalty. Jamal Musiala got Bayern's third goal seven minutes from the end

Bayern, 12 points clear of second-placed Dortmund, have now won 31 Bundesliga titles since the introduction of the top division in 1963, and 32 German league crowns in all, while Thomas Müller became the first player to win 11 league titles.

“Just for these moments... this is the best,” Müller said. “We really wanted to win it here. There was a lot of frustration in the past days and we could play it off today.”

Bayern were desperate to seal the title -- their only silverware of the season -- in the league's big game in front of a 75,000-strong home crowd to make up for their Champions League quarter-final shock exit to Villarreal earlier this month.

“This is not boring,” Müller said of Bayern’s domestic dominance. “This is outstanding. The more you win the greedier you get every year.”

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