PSG take a big step forward in the Ligue 1 title race – but was it fair?

Paris Saint-Germain do not need a helping hand but they were given it: first by the French football federation, who postponed their match against Nantes at the weekend so they could concentrate on the Champions League, and then by Lens, who lost 2-1 to Lorient and failed to retake top spot in Ligue 1.

The decision to postpone PSG’s game was one agreed upon by all parties, one taken to aid their preparations for their second leg against Chelsea, and one not without precedent. The same Ligue 1 fixture was postponed last season so PSG could focus on their European tie against Aston Villa.

However, the context was different. PSG were essentially home and hosed by this point, whereas this season they are in a much tighter title race. Lens have run PSG closest in Ligue 1 in recent seasons; three seasons ago, under Franck Haise, they finished just one point behind Les Parisiens. A win over Lorient on Saturday would have taken them back to the top of the league.

Lorient, however, are not rollovers. They have lost at home just once this season, and they have beaten Monaco and drawn against PSG at the Moustoir. Olivier Pantaloni’s side were among the favourites for an immediate return to Ligue 2, but they have defied the odds and are in the mix for the European places. Their slender win against Lens wasn’t pretty was but it was effective and deserved. Pierre Sage’s side were limited to pumping the ball into the box, which Lorient successfully repelled. Lens have been excellent this season but were made to look ordinary by Lorient.

Lens were beaten 2-1 by Lorient on Saturday. Photograph: Stéphane Mahé/Reuters

Lens’ failure to beat Lorient is theirs alone, but the failure to ensure fair competition lies with the authorities. PSG would have rotated their squad this weekend, as many clubs in European competition do. They have the depth to do so, as they reminded Chelsea, bringing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia off the bench to devastating effect at the Parc des Princes last week. After all, this is a club with a budget of €850m, almost €600m more than the next largest budget in Ligue 1 (Marseille) and €800m more than Nantes. That disparity of wealth adds a layer of absurdity to the excessive pandering they enjoy.

PSG, of course, had the right to ask for the postponement. The LFP didn’t have to say yes and nor did Nantes, even if there was seemingly only one man in favour of it at the club. The premise is that PSG’s success in Europe brings tangible benefits to the French game more generally. The rising tide supposedly lifts all ships but that is not the reality – at least not yet. The imbalances that made Nantes acquiesce to PSG’s whim is proof of that.

Nantes fans expressed their anger at their club’s meek submission. Earlier this month, their ultras distributed leaflets that the club’s owner, Waldemar Kita, cleaning Nasser al-Khelaifi’s shoes. “Kita is on his knees again. New multi-club ownership: Nantes become PSG’s bitch,” read the caption.

“Did we really have the choice? We would have preferred to play next week, but our job is about adapting,” said the club’s manager at the time Ahmed Kantari, who has since been replaced on the touchline by Vahid Halilhodzic. The 73-year-old Bosnian says he has inherited “an almost impossible mission”: Nantes are in the relegation zone, where they are battling against Nice and Paris FC, who both showed fight and picked up points at the weekend.

The delay has affected Nantes too. They will now have to play their rearranged game against PSG, as well as matches against Brest and Rennes, in the same week. For all the emphasis on optimising PSG’s preparations, there has not been much focus on Nantes’ fixtures congestion in their battle to stave off the drop.

Perhaps the delay will give Halilhodzic time to get his ideas across and organise his players, but this is a question of principles rather than the repercussions. A league of 18 teams should not bend to the whims of one.

Talking points

Elye Wahi was billed as the great saviour for Nice this weekend. He had begun brightly after his mid-season loan move from Eintracht Frankfurt (three goals in six league games) before suffering an ankle injury in mid-February. The goals certainly weren’t coming from elsewhere. Nice went into Saturday’s game against mid-table Angers having failed to score in their last four games. Their hastiness to reintegrate Wahi showed their growing desperation and fear, with the Ineos-owned club just two points above the relegation zone. Wahi lived up to his billing, setting up Nice’s opener two minutes after he came on as a substitute and then securing the three points with a chipped finish from midway inside the Angers half. With Nantes not playing and Auxerre losing against Marseille, relegation fears have been eased and focus will now turn towards their Coupe de France semi-final against Strasbourg and a massive rebuild in the summer.

Nice are not the only team whose attentions are being diverted away from the league. Strasbourg faced the top-five teams in the league in a gruelling six-game spell between January and February. They only lost to PSG and took eight points from a possible 15. “We’ve got ourselves in a good spot,” said Gary O’Neil after the last game of that run, a draw with Lens at the end of February. “On paper, we have an opportunity to push.” However, they have since been held to two goalless draws against relegation strugglers Auxerre and Paris FC. Optimism is dwindling. O’Neil spoke about finishing in the top five, then the top six, and then the top seven … The good news, however, is that they are in the Coupe de France semi-finals and are among the favourites to win the Europa Conference League, so have other ways to qualify for Europe.