PARIS, 25 May 2004 — Olympique Lyon were crowned champions for the third year in succession in France after a second half sprint that left Champions League finalists Monaco gasping in their wake.
Two years ago, Lyon waited for the last round of matches to clinch the first title in their history with a 3-1 victory over RC Lens, who were leading the title race before kickoff.
Last year Lyon topped Monaco in April after the principality team had led for most of the season, and they repeated that feat this season. In January Lyon were trailing Monaco by 10 points after slumping to a 3-0 defeat in the principality but they did not give up hope and gradually ate away at Monaco’s lead.
On April 11, Paul Le Guen’s side made up for their Champions League quarterfinals exit by beating Racing Strasbourg 1-0 to go top.
That same week Monaco had knocked out Real Madrid and they were increasingly distracted by their Champions League campaign, culminating in tomorrow’s final against Porto.
Monaco’s season made an impact on France coach Jacques Santini who named midfielders Ludovic Giuly and Jerome Rothen in his 23-man squad for Euro 2004 starting next month. Defenders Sebastien Squillaci and Patrice Evra have been left out of the squad but will surely form the backbone of the 2006 World Cup team with Paris St Germain fullback Bernard Mendy.
Barca Claim Second Spot as Real Hit New Low
In Madrid, Barcelona took runners-up spot behind Primera Liga champions Valencia despite a 2-1 defeat at Real Zaragoza after Real Madrid continued their late season meltdown with a 4-1 defeat at home to Real Sociedad.
With Deportivo Coruna winning 1-0 at Racing Santander on the final day of the season, Real were condemned to fourth-place after slumping to a record fifth defeat in a row. UEFA Cup winners and champions Valencia, whose celebrations were not dented by a 1-0 loss at home to Albacete, finished with 77 points, while Barca are five behind on 72, one ahead of Deportivo and two clear of Real.
Sevilla joined Athletic Bilbao in the UEFA Cup with a 1-0 win at home to Osasuna in bad-tempered match marred by several brawls between players and three red cards.
Atletico Madrid’s 4-3 win away to Bilbao was to no avail as although they finished level on points with Sevilla they lost out because of their worse head-to-head record.
At the other end of the table, Espanyol preserved their top-flight status with a 2-0 win at home to already relegated Murcia, a result that sent Celta Vigo and Valladolid into the second division.
