They were 2-0 down at the Parc des Princes but showed their typical fighting spirit to come back and beat the champions 3-2
By Eric Devin for Get French Football News
The final standings in Ligue 1 may look familiar, save a bravura display from Lens, but there were still some surprises to be found this season. Toulouse impressed by winning the Coupe de France and staying up comfortably, as did the often swashbuckling Lorient and Montpellier. Reims turned heads across Europe as their young manager, Will Still, put together a 19-match unbeaten run. But for keen observers of Ligue 1, perhaps the biggest surprise came at the Parc des Princes on Saturday, when Clermont Foot 63 defeated the champions.
Whereas Lens and Reims benefited from strong investment (by Ligue 1 standards), Toulouse had plenty of continuity in their playing staff, and Montpellier’s happy reunion with Michel der Zakarian was unsurprising given he had nearly taken the club to Europe in recent seasons, Clermont had none of this – just a canny, veteran manager in Pascal Gastien.
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