# 2004–05 Ligue 1

The 2004–05 season of Ligue 1 was a very close-run battle. Separating fourth placed Rennes, who enter the UEFA Cup and 18th placed Caen, who get relegated to Ligue 2, were just 13 points. Lyon were long time leaders and had won the league back in April 2005. On the last day, 4 teams could have got the 4th place guaranteeing a place in the UEFA Cup and any 2 from 6 teams could have been relegated before the final games.

## Participating teams

* Ajaccio
* Auxerre
* Bastia
* Bordeaux
* Caen
* Istres
* Lens
* Lille
* Lyon
* Marseille
* Metz
* Monaco
* Nantes
* Nice
* Paris Saint-Germain
* Rennes
* Saint-Étienne
* Sochaux
* Strasbourg
* Toulouse

## Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsors (front) | Shirt sponsors (back) | Shirt sponsors (sleeve) | Shorts sponsors |
| Ajaccio | Rolland Courbis | Baliston | Géant Casino | None | Conseil Général de la Corse du Sud, Collectivité Territoriale de Corse | None |
| Auxerre | Guy Roux | Uhlsport | PlayStation 2 | Eurotyre | None | None |
| Bastia | Michel Padovani & Éric Durand (caretakers) | Uhlsport | Géant Casino, Pago Premium Fruit Juice | None | Groupe Onet, Conseil départemental de la Haute-Corse | Nouvelles Frontières |
| Bordeaux | Michel Pavon | Puma | Motorola | None | Groupe M6 | Motorola |
| Caen | Franck Dumas | Erreà | Isigny Sainte-Mère (Home) / Philips (Away & Third), Brittany Ferries | Philips (Home) / Conseil régional de Basse-Normandie(Away) | Guy Dauphin Environnement | Guy Dauphin Environnement |
| Istres | Mehmed Baždarević | Baliston | Ouest Provence / ParuVendu, K-Sport | Fidelidade | None | None |
| Lens | Francis Gillot | Nike | Orange | Orange | None | None |
| Lille | Claude Puel | Kipsta | Partouche Casino | Partouche Casino | None | None |
| Lyon | Paul Le Guen | Umbro | Renault Trucks (H)/LG Mobile (A), NC Numericable, Renault Trucks | LG Mobile | Fertiligène | ISS |
| Marseille | Philippe Troussier | Adidas | Neuf | Creyf's Interim | Indesit | Quick |
| Metz | Jean Fernandez | Puma | Sollac, Moselle | None | Cora | BigBen Interactive |
| Monaco | Didier Deschamps | Puma | Fedcom | Gian Alberto Caporale | None | Monaco Telecom |
| Nantes | Serge Le Dizet | Le Coq Sportif | Synergie Interim (Home) / Paprec Recyclage (Away), Pays de la Loire | Paprec Recyclage (Home) / Synergie Interim (Away) | Hero by Wrangler | Hero by Wrangler |
| Nice | Frédéric Antonetti | Puma | Rica Lewis (Home) / Gorenje (Away), RMC | Gorenje (Home) / Rica Lewis (Away) | Pizzorno Environnement | Pizzorno Environnement |
| Paris Saint-Germain | Laurent Fournier | Nike | Thomson | 32 75 La Ligne Officielle PSG | 32 75 La Ligne Officielle PSG | Poweo |
| Rennes | László Bölöni | Airness | Conforama (Home) / Fiat Utilitaires (Away), Samsic Propreté, Rennes | Fiat Utilitaires (Home) / Conforama(Away) | Association ELA | None |
| Saint-Étienne | Élie Baup | Duarig | Konica Minolta, Conseil général de la Loire en Rhône-Alpes | Vocalcom | Loire, SACMA Agencements | Saint-Étienne |
| Sochaux | Guy Lacombe | Lotto | Esso, Franche-Comté | Alliance Intérim | Megnin Bernard | Peugeot |
| Strasbourg | Jacky Duguépéroux | Adidas | Steelcase (Home) / Europe 2 (Away), Europe 2 | None | None | Barrisol |
| Toulouse | Erick Mombaerts | Lotto | Nicopatch, Monné-Decroix, Sud Radio / Eaux d'Alet | None | None | None |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Lyon (C) | 38 | 22 | 13 | 3 | 56 | 22 | +34 | 79 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Lille | 38 | 18 | 13 | 7 | 52 | 29 | +23 | 67 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Monaco | 38 | 15 | 18 | 5 | 52 | 35 | +17 | 63 | Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Rennes | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 49 | 42 | +7 | 55 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Marseille | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 55 | Qualification to Intertoto Cup third round |
| 6 | Saint-Étienne | 38 | 12 | 17 | 9 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 53 | Qualification to Intertoto Cup third round |
| 7 | Lens | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 45 | 39 | +6 | 52 | Qualification to Intertoto Cup second round |
| 8 | Auxerre | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 48 | 47 | +1 | 52 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 9 | Paris Saint-Germain | 38 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 40 | 41 | −1 | 51 | |
| 10 | Sochaux | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 50 | |
| 11 | Strasbourg | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 48 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 12 | Nice | 38 | 10 | 16 | 12 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 46 | |
| 13 | Toulouse | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 36 | 43 | −7 | 46 | |
| 14 | Ajaccio | 38 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 45 | |
| 15 | Bordeaux | 38 | 8 | 20 | 10 | 37 | 41 | −4 | 44 | |
| 16 | Metz | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 33 | 45 | −12 | 44 | |
| 17 | Nantes | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 33 | 38 | −5 | 43 | |
| 18 | Caen (R) | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 36 | 60 | −24 | 42 | Relegation to Ligue 2 |
| 19 | Bastia (R) | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 32 | 48 | −16 | 41 | Relegation to Ligue 2 |
| 20 | Istres (R) | 38 | 6 | 14 | 18 | 25 | 51 | −26 | 32 | Relegation to Ligue 2 |
* ↑ Auxerre was qualified for the 2005–06 UEFA Cup as winners of the 2004–05 Coupe de France.
* ↑ Strasbourg was qualified for the 2005–06 UEFA Cup as winners of the 2004–05 Coupe de la Ligue.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ACA | AUX | BAS | BOR | CAE | IST | RCL | LIL | OL | OM | MET | ASM | NAN | NIC | PSG | REN | STE | SOC | STR | TFC |
| Ajaccio | | 4–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Auxerre | 1–0 | | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 |
| Bastia | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1–4 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Bordeaux | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Caen | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| Istres | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Lens | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 5–2 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Lille | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 8–0 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Lyon | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| Marseille | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Metz | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Monaco | 2–2 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 3–4 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Nantes | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Nice | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Paris SG | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Rennes | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | | 2–2 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 |
| Saint-Étienne | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Sochaux | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| Strasbourg | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 1–4 |
| Toulouse | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Alexander Frei | Rennes | 20 |
| 2 | Mickaël Pagis | Strasbourg | 15 |
| 3 | Pauleta | Paris Saint-Germain | 14 |
| 4 | Pascal Feindouno | Saint-Étienne | 13 |
| 4 | Ilan | Sochaux | 13 |
| 4 | Juninho Pernambucano | Lyon | 13 |
| 4 | Sébastien Mazure | Caen | 13 |
| 4 | Matt Moussilou | Lille | 13 |
| 9 | Mamadou Niang | Strasbourg | 12 |
| 9 | John Utaka | Lens | 12 |

## Player of the month

| Month | Player |
| August | Franck Ribéry (FC Metz) |
| September | Fabien Barthez (Olympique de Marseille) |
| October | Michael Essien (Olympique Lyonnais) |
| November | Camel Meriem (AS Monaco) |
| January | Peguy Luyindula (Olympique de Marseille) |
| February | Juninho Pernambucano (Olympique Lyonnais) |
| March | Juninho Pernambucano (Olympique Lyonnais) |
| April | Matt Moussilou (Lille OSC) |
| May | Mamadou Niang (RC Strasbourg) |