Ligue 1 Team of the Season (2021-22)
On Saturday (May 21), Ligue 1 saw its last day of action of the 2021-22 campaign. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), who had won the league title six games prior, marked the occasion with an emphatic 5-0 win over Metz.
Second-placed Marseille ended their season with a 4-0 win over Strasbourg. Monaco finished third, meaning they will have to go through qualifiers to take part in the Champions League next season. Rennes and Nice occupied fourth and fifth places, respectively. Renne's fourth-placed finish ensures Europa League football for them, while Nice will take part in the Europa Conference League qualifiers.
PSG’s triumph may not surprise anyone, but that shouldn’t take anything away from the brilliant performances we enjoyed throughout the 2021-22 Ligue 1 campaign.
Today, we will take a look at the league's standout footballers in their respective positions. Here is the Ligue 1 team of the season:
Note: All stats courtesy FBRef.
Goalkeeper: Keylor Navas (PSG)
Following Gianluigi Donnarumma’s arrival, many expected Keylor Navas to lose relevancy at Paris Saint-Germain.
His game time was undoubtedly cut short by the Italian’s arrival, but the Costa Rican was most certainly not an afterthought.
#PSGKeylor Navas on his future: “Staying at Paris Saint-Germain? Yes, yes… I have a two-year contract here at PSG”, tells Prime Video. 🇨🇷 #PSG
Gigio Donnarumma has no intention to leave this summer - Psg sources think Keylor’s future remains open.
Navas featured in 21 league games in 2021-22, conceding only 18 goals. He saved 78.9 percent of the shots he faced, conceding 0.87 goals per 90 minutes.
Right-back: Achraf Hakimi (PSG)
Achraf Hakimi joined Paris Saint-Germain from Inter Milan at the start of the 2021-22 campaign. His hefty €66.5 million price tag put the burden of expectations on his shoulders, but he did not crumble under it.
Producing confident performances, he emerged as one of the best debutants in Ligue 1 in the 2021-22 campaign.
Hakimi featured in 32 French top-flight games in 2021-22, recording four goals and six assists.
He also made 29 key passes, played 98 progressive passes, intercepted 45 passes, and won 47 tackles.
Centre-back: Marquinhos (PSG)
PSG centre-back Marquinhos was one of the first names on Mauricio Pochettino’s team sheet in the 2021-22 Ligue 1 season. The Brazilian, as expected, repaid his coach’s faith with impressive performances throughout the campaign.
Apart from being defensively solid, he also proved to be quite a menacing presence in the opposition box, scoring five league goals in the recently concluded league season.
Marquinhos took part in 32 matches, winning 19 tackles, blocking 22 shots, intercepting 50 passes, and making 99 clearances.
Centre-back: Andrei Girotto (Nantes)
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Nantes may not be as big a name as some of the other clubs on our list today, but their mentality can give any of the giants a run for their money. Centre-back Andrei Girotto is the personification of Nantes’ fighting spirit and determination.
He made important blocks, scored goals, and led by example even when the odds were firmly stacked against his side.
In the 2021-22 Ligue 1 campaign, Girotto featured in 36 games for Nantes, recording six goals and an assist.
He also won 51 tackles, blocked 34 shots, recorded 83 interceptions and 119 clearances.
Left-back: Caio Henrique (Monaco)
Being a modern-day left-back is not an easy task. Not only are they required to keep things nice and tidy at the back, but they are also tasked with bombing forward.
Caio Henrique proved his quality at both ends of the pitch over the course of the 2021-22 campaign.
The Monaco full-back took part in 34 league matches in 2021-22, recording two goals and eight assists.
He also played 45 key passes, won 24 tackles, and recorded 58 interceptions.
Defensive midfield: Aurelien Tchouameni (Monaco)
Aurelian Tchouameni has become a sensation in European football this term. Despite being only 22 years old, Tchouameni has established himself as one of the most promising midfielders in the world.
Sitting in a deeper position, he not only knows how to stop attacks but can instigate a few of his own as well.
In Ligue 1 2021-22, Tchouameni featured in 35 games, scoring thrice and providing two assists.
He also played 22 key passes, won 67 tackles, and intercepted 114 passes.
Central midfield: Benjamin Bourigeaud (Rennes)
Rennes emerged as arguably the most excitable team in the 2021-22 Ligue 1 campaign, with Benjamin Bourigeau positively contributing to their flamboyance.
Apart from dominating the tempo in the middle of the park, Bourigeaud also scored and assisted plentifully. In 38 Ligue 1 appearances, the Rennes midfielder scored 11 times and set up 12 more.
Mesmerized by his performance, some Rennes fans added Benjamin Bourigeaud’s name to their blot paper ahead of France’s presidential elections.
Given his performances, we cannot say we blame the overenthusiastic fans.
Central midfield: Dimitri Payet (Marseille)
Marseille star Dimitri Payet enjoyed a stellar Ligue 1 campaign in 2021-22. He dialed his creativity up to 11 and regularly tormented his opponents with clever passes, immaculate through balls, and confident finishing.
Had it not been for Payet’s excellence in the middle, Marseille would have had a hard time finishing in second place.
Payet featured in 31 Ligue 1 games in 2021-22, recording 12 goals and 10 assists. Out of his 12 goals, seven came from the spot with a 100 percent conversion rate.
The heartbeat of the team, Payet, also registered 101 key passes and 170 progressive passes.
Right-wing: Lionel Messi (PSG)
Lionel Messi couldn’t quite live up to expectations in Ligue 1 this season, with the forward scoring only six times in the French top-flight.
However, that does not mean he did not make any impact. Considering it was his first-ever season away from Barcelona, it was great to see his creative juices flowing.
Often dropping deep, Messi acted as a playmaker, carving open defenses with his incisive passes.
In 26 Ligue 1 matches, Messi provided 14 assists, emerging as the second-leading assist-provider in the division. The Argentine also found the back of the net six times.
Striker: Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco)
Monaco ace Wissam Ben Yedder played exceptional football throughout the 2021-22 Ligue 1 campaign. Not only did he score (25 goals) for fun, but he also created goals for his teammates, bagging five assists.
Ben Yedder also finished the season without missing a single penalty, converting from all eight of his spot-kicks.
3 - Wissam Ben Yedder has scored a goal every 3 shots in Ligue 1 this season (24 goals, 71 shots), best ratio in the Top 5 European leagues (min. 10 goals).
Remarkable. https://t.co/6ZuOwOLRJ2
He was on course to finish the season as the league’s joint-highest scorer alongside Kylian Mbappe.
Unfortunately for Ben Yedder, Mbappe scored a last-day hat-trick to take the prize away from him.
Left-wing: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe finished the 2021-22 Ligue 1 campaign as the division’s leading scorer as well as assist provider.
He used his pace superbly, showed excellent composure in front of goal, and produced the goods in the most crucial moments.
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The Frenchman bagged 28 goals and provided 17 assists in the French top-flight, showing his versatility in the final third.
The 2018 World Cup winner won the Man of the Match award a whopping 12 times, more than anyone else in Ligue 1 this term.
With Mbappe extending his stay at the Parc des Princes, expect more fireworks form his next season.