Congratulations to Paris St. Germain, winners of the French League Cup after beating Lens 2:1 in Sunday's final. The side now joins such luminaries as Tottenham, Carquefou, Spartak Moscow, Inter Riga, Llansantffreid, Werder Bremen, and Westbromwich Albion in the UEFA Cup next season. (Some listed sides may not appear.)
We also note the victory of Franchise FC over Rimsby in the Football League Trophy. The side won the match at Wembley Building Site by two blocked toilets and a roof stanchion to some falling masonry.
Upsets
42 Werder Bremen - Duisburg 1:2 41 AEK - Olympiakos 4:0 40 Tottenham Hotspur - Newcastle United 1:4 40 Betis - Barcelona 3:2 37 Birmingham City - Manchester City 3:1 36 AC Milan - Atalanta 1:2 34 Coventry City - Plymouth Argyle 3:1 33 Getafe - Osasuna 0:2 32 Udinese - Fiorentina 3:1 32 Sunderland - West Ham United 2:1 32 Hearts - Dundee Utd 1:0 32 Bayer Leverkusen - Eintracht Frankfurt 0:2 31 Motherwell - Hibs 1:0 18 Hamburger SV - Bielefeld 1:1 18 Cagliari - Roma 1:1 17 Nurnberg - Bayern Munchen 1:1
Werder may have left it just a little too late to renew hostilities with Alamenia Aachen, but the side is certainly playing like the Intertoto Cup would represent an achievement. Surprises in Greece, as AEK records its first win over decent opposition in a long time, and in England, as Newcastle has only its second win in two months. Three of the sides in European League action to-night suffered surprises - Barcelona lost, Roma and Schalke 04 drew, and only the Buccaneers conspired to win. No shocks in Scotland - Rangers won to become champions-elect, and Gretna's loss ensures that the side changes division before the clocks go forward, as it did in '05 and '06.
League 1
LYN 1152 78.5 71 0.90 BDX 1071 77.9 -19 -0.24 MAR 1012 74.8 -52 -0.70 NCY 1011 81.3 28 0.34 PSG 982 78.5 -4 -0.05 SCX 980 80.3 71 0.88 AUX 979 78.8 -17 -0.22 LEM 979 79.4 -19 -0.24 LIL 974 80.8 7 0.09 NIC 970 81.8 -57 -0.70 REN 968 79.5 86 1.08 LEN 961 79.0 -63 -0.80 LOR 959 78.7 -44 -0.56 VCN 934 80.7 10 0.12 CAE 925 82.3 -34 -0.41 TOU 903 80.3 20 0.25 MON 894 80.7 -62 -0.77 SET 877 82.3 -53 -0.64 MTZ 876 82.6 16 0.19 STR 874 84.0 -42 -0.50 NTS (II) 987 117.7 67 0.57 SED (II) 901 115.1 - 7 -0.06 TRY (II) 861 125.7 -36 -0.29
This month - since 19 February - could be re-titled How Lyon Got Its Groove Back. A victory over Bordeaux, and four wins over lesser opposition, means the side is champions-elect once more. And, as last season, there's an almighty ruck for the runner-up places, and to avoid relegation, with sides packed in tighter than sardines in a can. Though Metz have had a good month here, they're miles adrift in the league, with PSG and Toulouse occupying the other trapdoors. Nantes and Le Havre are looking certainties to make the top flight next season; Troyes may yet join them.
Division A
RAN 1058 78.9 20 0.25 CEL 949 80.9 -46 -0.57 ABD 843 76.4 5 0.07 DDU 809 79.6 10 0.13 HBS 798 79.5 17 0.21 HRT 777 80.5 53 0.66 FAL 775 80.6 - 6 -0.07 MTW 774 80.4 -18 -0.22 STM 714 79.0 -23 -0.29 KLM 684 83.3 42 0.50 ICT 656 81.4 -102 -1.25 GRE 562 91.5 - 5 -0.05 LVG (II) 605 131.7 -3 -0.02 DNF (II) 586 126.6 2 0.02
Well, it does look as though the last Edinburgh derby will take place, and that it will take place in the top half of the division, something that looked most unlikely in January. The main topic this month has been Inverness's plummet away from top-six contention towards tenth place. Hamilton Academicals and Dundee are the sides most likely to take the vacant place in the top flight next season. We will decide what to do with Gretna as and when the Scottish League decides on the matter; the precedent of Grazer AK is to keep the side on the listings for a season, but this will not be possible if they drop out of the League 42.
