Mbappe wins record 5th French golden boot, Rennes earn Europa League spot, Auxerre relegated

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe won a record fifth straight French golden boot on Saturday while Rennes clinched a Europa League spot and Auxerre were relegated.

Mbappe’s goal in a 3-2 loss to Clermont finished his league tally on 29 and made him the top scorer for the fifth time, tied with French great Jean-Pierre Papin and retired Argentine strikers Carlos Bianchi and Delio Onnis.

French champions PSG and second-placed Lens qualified for the group stage of the Champions League next season and third-placed Marseille earned a spot in the third qualifying round of the lucrative European competition.

Rennes edged Brest 2-1 with first-half goals from Benjamin Bourigeaud to leapfrog Lille into fourth place.

Lille booked a playoff spot for the Europa Conference League after drawing with Troyes 1-1. Bafode Diakite opened the scoring for Lille in the second half and Troyes winger Rony Lopes equalized.

Monaco were third in the previous two seasons but missed out on European football after losing to Toulouse 2-1 to finish sixth. Toulouse substitute Rhys Healey scored the winner in stoppage time. After 34 rounds, Monaco had a five-point lead over Lille and were eight points clear of Rennes. But Monaco collapsed during the run-in with just one point from the last four games.

PSG finished only one point clear of Lens after the home loss to Clermont, which also marked Lionel Messi’s farewell match for the club. Messi was booed before kickoff.

PSG led 2-0 after a header from the departing Sergio Ramos and a penalty from Mbappe. Mbappe celebrated by holding up a shirt with Sergio Rico’s name on it. Rico, the PSG backup goalkeeper, was seriously injured after getting hit by a loose horse in Spain last Sunday.

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