Who Are The Biggest Ligue 1 Winners?
Ligue 1 is one of the most competitive leagues in European football. Since the French league was formed in 1932, 19 different clubs have lifted the Ligue 1 title.
Paris Saint-Germain have dominated Ligue 1 in recent times, winning the title in seven of the last nine seasons. If you look at any Ligue 1 winners list, PSG will immediately catch the eye.
The largest margin of victory in Ligue 1 is nine goals, with AS Monaco becoming the first team to win by that deficit in 1986.
Since then, PSG have recorded two 9-0 victories, most recently in January 2019 at home to Guingamp.
Here, we look at the Ligue 1 winners list and examine the biggest wins in French top flight history.
At the time of writing, seven Ligue 1 matches have been won by eight or more goals – and you’ll see some familiar team names throughout the article.
1988/89: Lille 8-0 Stade Lavallois
Lille ran riot at Stade Grimonprez-Jooris in May 1989, putting eight goals past already relegated Stade Laval in front of around 5,000 spectators.
The hosts raced into an early lead with Philippe Perilleux putting Lille in front after 11 minutes before Erwin Vandenbergh doubled their lead shortly after the half hour mark.
Bernard Lama ensured that Lille went into half-time with a three goal lead before Perilleux notched his second in the 63rd minute.
A red card for Frank Leboeuf saw Laval reduced to 10 men and Roger Boli bagged a quickfire brace to put Lille 6-0 up with 15 minutes remaining.
There was still time for Alain Fiard to get his name on the scoresheet before Vandenbergh completed the rout with an injury-time strike to make it eight.
1996/97: Lyon 8-0 Marseille
In one of the craziest matches on this list, Lyon put eight past Marseille in May 1997 – with seven goals coming in the first half.
The writing was on the wall for Marseille in the first minute as Alain Caveglia struck to give the hosts an early advantage.
Florian Maurice made it two shortly after before Franck Gava bagged on the 15-minute mark to send the home fans into raptures.
The flurry of goals continued as Ludovic Guily added a fourth before making it 5-0 just five minutes later.
Maurice notched his second of the first half before Caveglia made it 7-0 with 10 minutes remaining in the first period.
To their credit, Marseille rallied in the second half but Guily completed his hat-trick with 54 minutes on the clock to condemn the visitors to an embarrassing defeat.
2004/05: Lille 8-0 Istres
The 2004/05 campaign was a year to remember for Lille as they finished runners up to Lyon in the French league title race.
Matt Moussilou set Lille on their way with a hat-trick inside the opening 2 minutes before Mathieu Bodmer added to the lead in the 22nd minute.
Philippe Brunel extended their lead before half-time and Moussilou bagged his fourth and Lille’s sixth with 56 minutes on the clock.
Brunel then added a seventh on the hour mark before a Brahim Thiam own goal completed the rout, heaping misery on relegated Istres.
While Lille missed out on the title, they secured their spot in the Ligue 1 history books with a second eight-goal victory in 16 years.
2017/18: Paris Saint-Germain 8-0 Dijon
PSG flexed their muscles in front of a sell-out crowd at Parc des Princes in January 2018, with the defending Ligue 1 winners putting eight past a helpless Dijon.
Angel di Maria got the party started in the fourth minute before doubling PSG’s lead with just 15 minutes on the clock.
Edinson Cavani slotted home to put the game to bed before Neymar added a fourth minutes before the half-time whistle.
The Brazilian wasn’t finished there though and he notched a second shortly before the hour mark and then completed his hat-trick with a neat finish.
Not to be outdone, Kylian Mbappe got his name on the scoresheet before Neymar stepped up to bury a penalty to complete the rout.
Mbappe and Neymar are two of the best players to don the PSG kits these days and we’ll get onto another dominant Parisian performance shortly…
1985/86: AS Monaco 9-0 Bordeaux
In January 1986, the most bizarre result in Ligue 1 history occurred as Monaco put nine goals past a stunned Bordeaux.
Felix Lacuesta put the hosts on the right track with a first minute strike before Bernard Genghini doubled their advantage before the half-time interval.
Things got worse for Bordeaux in the second half though, with Jean-Christophe Thouvenel’s own goal ending any chance of a spirited comeback.
Genghini scored in the 52nd minute before completing his hat-trick on the hour mark. 10 minutes later, Daniel Bravo had added a sixth.
Monaco weren’t finished there. Genghini notched his fourth before Philippe Anziani got his name on the scoresheet just three minutes later.
Bravo scored his second goal of the game to complete the rout. Despite the margin of this result, Bordeaux went on to finish third in the table while Monaco had to settle for ninth.
2015/16: Troyes 0-9 Paris Saint-Germain
This was the pre-Mbappe and Neymar era but PSG were still the kings of French football and Troyes found themselves on the end of a nine-goal hiding in March 2016.
The hosts resisted until the 13th minute but three goals in the space of six minutes changed the entire complexion of the contest.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored four goals in the second half as PSG piled it on, with the visitors keeping their foot on the gas throughout the match.
The fourth of Zlatan’s goals came in the 89th minute and that strike clinched a new record for the biggest Ligue 1 winners away from home.
Prior to that strike, Cavani had bagged his second of the game and a disappointing own goal really summed up the mood amongst the home supporters.
2018/19: Paris Saint-Germain 9-0 Guingamp
Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani both scored hat-tricks as PSG ran riot against Guingamp in January 2019.
Neymar opened the scoring in the 11th minute before Mbappe bagged a brace to ensure a healthy lead for the hosts at the break.
Cavani turned on the style in the second half, notching a 16-minute hat trick with Neymar also grabbing his second goal of the game during a purple patch.
Mbappe competed a hat-trick of his own just five minutes later before Thomas Meunier made it 9-0 in the closing stages to cement PSG’s status as Ligue 1’s elite football club.
