2015–16 Ligue 1

The 2015–16 Ligue 1 season was the 78th season of the Ligue de Football Professionnel first division since its establishment. It started on 7 August 2015 and concluded on 14 May 2016. Paris Saint-Germain were the defending champions, and retained the title with a 9–0 win at Troyes on 13 March.^[3] It was their fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title.^[4]

Ligue 1

Season	2015–16
Dates	7 August 2015 – 14 May 2016
Champions	Paris Saint-Germain 6th Ligue 1 title 6th French title
Relegated	Troyes Gazélec Ajaccio Reims
Champions League	Paris Saint-Germain Lyon Monaco
Europa League	Nice Lille Saint-Étienne
Matches played	380
Goals scored	960 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorer	Zlatan Ibrahimović (38 goals)
Biggest home win	Marseille 6–0 Troyes (23 August 2015) Paris Saint-Germain 6–0 Caen (16 September 2016)
Biggest away win	Troyes 0–9 Paris Saint-Germain (13 March 2016)
Highest scoring	Troyes 0–9 Paris Saint-Germain (13 March 2016)
Longest winning run	9 matches Paris Saint-Germain
Longest unbeaten run	27 matches Paris Saint-Germain
Longest winless run	21 matches Troyes
Longest losing run	6 matches Reims
Highest attendance	63,235 Marseille 1–2 Paris Saint-Germain[1] (8 February 2016)
Lowest attendance	3,465 Gazélec Ajaccio 2–2 Toulouse[2] (3 October 2015)
Total attendance	7,920,621[2]
Average attendance	20,560
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

Teams

There were 20 clubs in the league, with three promoted teams from Ligue 2 replacing the three teams that were relegated from Ligue 1 following the 2014–15 season. All clubs that secured Ligue 1 status for the season were subject to approval by the DNCG before becoming eligible to participate. Originally, only two teams were planned to be relegated at the end of the season.^[5] However, this proposal was appealed and eventually overturned, so as in past seasons, three teams are to be relegated.^[6] Evian, Metz and Lens were relegated to Ligue 2 at the conclusion of the 2014–15 season. Troyes, Gazelec Ajaccio and Angers were promoted to the top level. Troyes returned after being relegated in 2012–13 season. Gazelec Ajaccio secured their second consecutive promotion and joined Ligue 1 for the first time in the club's history. Angers returned to the top level after 21 years.

Stadia and locations

Angers

Bastia

Bordeaux

Caen

Gazélec

Guingamp

Lille

Lorient

Lyon

Marseille

Monaco

Montpellier

Nantes

Nice

PSG

Reims

Rennes

St-Étienne

Toulouse

Troyes

Location of teams in 2015–16 Ligue 1

Club	Location	Venue	Capacity
Angers	Angers	Stade Jean Bouin	17,835
Bastia	Bastia	Stade Armand Cesari	16,480
Bordeaux	Bordeaux	Matmut Atlantique	42,115
Caen	Caen	Stade Michel d'Ornano	21,215
Gazélec Ajaccio	Ajaccio	Stade Ange Casanova	6,000
Guingamp	Guingamp	Stade du Roudourou	18,126
Lille	Villeneuve-d'Ascq	Stade Pierre-Mauroy	50,186
Lorient	Lorient	Stade du Moustoir	18,890
Lyon	Lyon	Stade de Gerland (fall 2015) Parc Olympique Lyonnais (spring 2016)	41,842 59,186
Marseille	Marseille	Stade Vélodrome (revamped for Euro 2016)	67,000
Monaco	Monaco	Stade Louis II	18,500
Montpellier	Montpellier	Stade de la Mosson	32,939
Nantes	Nantes	Stade de la Beaujoire	38,285
Nice	Nice	Allianz Riviera	35,624
Paris Saint-Germain	Paris	Parc des Princes	48,712
Reims	Reims	Stade Auguste Delaune	21,684
Rennes	Rennes	Roazhon Park	29,376
Saint-Étienne	Saint-Étienne	Stade Geoffroy-Guichard	42,000
Toulouse	Toulouse	Stadium Municipal	35,470
Troyes	Troyes	Stade de l'Aube	21,684

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit Manufacturer[7]	Shirt sponsors (front)[7]	Shirt sponsors (back)	Shirt sponsors (sleeve)	Shorts sponsors
Angers	Stéphane Moulin	Olivier Auriac	Kappa	Scania (H)/Bodet (A), L'Atoll Angers, Brioche Pasquier, Angers	La Boucherie	Algimouss	Système U, babygro
Bastia	François Ciccolini	Yannick Cahuzac	Kappa	Oscaro, Collectivité Territoriale de Corse, Corsica Ferries, AM Environnement, Ford	Pago	Certifoot.com, Haute-Corse	Orezza, Kontakt
Bordeaux	Ulrich Ramé	Ludovic Sané	Puma	Kia	Yezz	Groupe Pichet	Winamax
Caen	Patrice Garande	Julien Féret	Nike	Campagne de France (H)/Maisons France Confort (A & 3), Groupe IDEC, Künkel, Petit Forestier	Wati B	Guy Dauphin Environnement	Wati B
Gazélec Ajaccio	Thierry Laurey	Louis Poggi	Macron	Carrefour, Casino d'Ajaccio, Collectivité Territoriale de Corse, Foxy Auto, NetBet	Département Corse-du-Sud	Corsea Promotion	Banette Boulanger, Air Corsica
Guingamp	Jocelyn Gourvennec	Lionel Mathis	Patrick	Celtigel, Société ADS, Breizh Cola	Mère Lalie	Celtarmor	BRIEUC biscuiterie, caramelerie, confiturerie
Lille	Frédéric Antonetti	Rio Mavuba	Nike	Partouche, etixx	Vacansoleil	Godin	No Publik
Lorient	Sylvain Ripoll	Yann Jouffre	Adidas	B&B Hotels (H)/Jean Floc'h (A), Jean Floc'h (H)/B&B Hotels (A), Breizh Cola	Salaün Holidays	Virage Conseil	Lorient Agglomération
Lyon	Bruno Génésio	Maxime Gonalons	Adidas	Hyundai/Veolia (in UEFA matches), Cegid, MDA Electroménager	Intermarché	24Option.com	Oknoplast
Marseille	Franck Passi	Steve Mandanda	Adidas	Intersport	Turkish Airlines	Mutuelles du Soleil	Winamax
Monaco	Leonardo Jardim	Jérémy Toulalan	Nike	Fedcom, Alain Afflelou	Alain Afflelou	Triangle Intérim	Orezza
Montpellier	Frédéric Hantz	Vitorino Hilton	Nike	Sud de France, Dyneff Gaz, Montpellier Métropole, Mutuelles du Soleil	La Région Languedoc-Roussillon	FAUN-Environnement	Système U, Wati B
Nantes	Michel Der Zakarian	Oswaldo Vizcarrondo	Umbro	Synergie, Système U, Proginov	Anvolia	None	Winamax, etixx
Nice	Claude Puel	Nampalys Mendy	Burrda	Mutuelles du Soleil, Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur, Ville de Nice	Pizzorno Environnement	Nice Start(s) Up (H)/interactive-option.com (T)	Winamax
Paris Saint-Germain	Laurent Blanc	Thiago Silva	Nike	Fly Emirates	Ooredoo	QNB	None
Reims	David Guion	Aïssa Mandi	Hummel	Sanei Ascenseurs, Geodis, Transports Caillot	SOS Malus	Certifoot.com, Reims Métropole (H)/Reims (A)	None
Rennes	Rolland Courbis	Romain Danzé	Puma	Samsic, Del Arte, Armor-Lux, Association ELA	Blot Immobilier	rennes.fr	Bretagne Structures
Saint-Étienne	Christophe Galtier	Loïc Perrin	Le Coq Sportif	EoviMcd Mutuelle, Loire	BewellConnect	MARKAL	Desjoyaux Piscines
Toulouse	Pascal Dupraz	Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro	Joma	Triangle Intérim, Natur House, LP Promotion	Newrest	Prévoir Assurances	So Toulouse
Troyes	Mohamed Bradja	Benjamin Nivet	Kappa	Babeau Seguin, First Securite Events, Intermarché, Festilight	Premium Automobiles	None	Troyes

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Lille	René Girard	Mutual consent	24 May 2015[8]	Pre-season	Hervé Renard	25 May 2015[9]
Marseille	Marcelo Bielsa	Resigned	8 August 2015[10]	19th	Míchel	19 August 2015[11]
Lille	Hervé Renard	Mutual consent	11 November 2015 [12]	16th	Frédéric Antonetti	22 November 2015 [13]
Troyes	Jean-Marc Furlan		3 December 2015 [14]	20th	Claude Robin	8 December 2015 [15]
Montpellier	Rolland Courbis	Resigned	23 December 2015 [16]	15th	Frédéric Hantz	27 December 2015 [17]
Lyon	Hubert Fournier	Sacked	24 December 2015 [18]	9th	Bruno Génésio	24 December 2015
Rennes	Philippe Montanier		20 January 2016 [19]	6th	Rolland Courbis	21 January 2016
Bastia	Ghislain Printant		28 January 2016 [20]	15th	François Ciccolini	29 January 2016
Troyes	Claude Robin		4 February 2016 [21]	20th	Mohamed Bradja	5 February 2016
Toulouse	Dominique Arribagé	Resigned	27 February 2016 [22]	19th	Pascal Dupraz	2 March 2016 [23]
Bordeaux	Willy Sagnol	Sacked	14 March 2016 [24]	14th	Ulrich Ramé	14 March 2016 [24]
Marseille	Míchel		19 April 2016[25]	15th	Franck Passi (caretaker)	19 April 2016
Reims	Olivier Guégan		23 April 2016[26]	17th	David Guion (caretaker)	23 April 2016

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Paris Saint-Germain (C)	38	30	6	2	102	19	+83	96	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Lyon	38	19	8	11	67	43	+24	65
3	Monaco	38	17	14	7	57	50	+7	65	Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
4	Nice	38	18	9	11	58	41	+17	63	Qualification for the Europa League group stage[a]
5	Lille	38	15	15	8	39	27	+12	60	Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[a]
6	Saint-Étienne	38	17	7	14	42	37	+5	58
7	Caen	38	16	6	16	39	52	−13	54
8	Rennes	38	13	13	12	52	54	−2	52
9	Angers	38	13	11	14	40	38	+2	50
10	Bastia	38	14	8	16	36	42	−6	50
11	Bordeaux	38	12	14	12	50	57	−7	50
12	Montpellier	38	14	7	17	49	47	+2	49
13	Marseille	38	10	18	10	48	42	+6	48
14	Nantes	38	12	12	14	33	44	−11	48
15	Lorient	38	11	13	14	47	58	−11	46
16	Guingamp	38	11	11	16	47	56	−9	44
17	Toulouse	38	9	13	16	45	55	−10	40
18	Reims (R)	38	10	9	19	44	57	−13	39	Relegation to Ligue 2[b]
19	Gazélec Ajaccio (R)	38	8	13	17	37	58	−21	37
20	Troyes (R)	38	3	9	26	28	83	−55	18

Source: Ligue 1, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Fairplay ranking.^[29]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Since the winners of the 2015–16 Coupe de France and the 2015–16 Coupe de la Ligue, Paris Saint-Germain, qualified for European competition based on their league position, the spot awarded to the Coupe de France winners (Europa League group stage) was passed to the fourth-placed team and the spot awarded to the Coupe de la Ligue winners (Europa League third qualifying round) was passed to the sixth-placed team. The fifth-placed team received the spot in Europa League third qualifying round originally designated to the fourth-placed team.
2. Starting this season, Ligue 1 decided to reduce the number of relegation spots from three to two.^[27] However, the decision was appealed and overturned so three teams were relegated.^[28]

Results

Home \ Away	ANG	BAS	BOR	CAE	GAZ	GUI	LIL	LOR	OL	OM	ASM	MHS	NAN	NIC	PSG	REI	REN	STE	TFC	TRO
Angers		1–0	1–1	2–0	0–0	0–0	2–0	5–1	0–3	0–1	3–0	2–3	0–0	1–1	0–0	0–0	0–2	0–0	2–3	1–0
Bastia	1–0		1–0	1–0	1–2	3–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	2–1	1–2	1–0	0–0	1–3	0–2	2–0	2–1	0–1	3–0	2–0
Bordeaux	1–3	1–1		1–4	1–1	1–0	1–0	3–0	3–1	1–1	3–1	0–0	2–0	0–0	1–1	1–2	4–0	1–4	1–1	1–0
Caen	0–0	0–0	1–0		2–0	2–1	1–2	1–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	2–1	0–2	2–0	0–3	0–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–1
Gazélec Ajaccio	0–2	3–2	2–0	1–0		0–0	2–4	1–1	2–1	1–1	0–1	0–4	1–1	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–3
Guingamp	2–2	1–0	2–4	1–1	2–1		1–1	2–2	0–1	2–0	3–3	2–2	2–2	2–3	0–2	1–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–0
Lille	0–0	1–1	0–0	1–0	1–0	0–0		3–0	1–0	1–2	4–1	2–0	0–1	1–1	0–1	2–0	1–1	1–0	1–0	1–3
Lorient	3–1	1–1	3–2	2–0	1–0	4–3	0–1		1–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–0	0–0	1–2	2–0	1–1	0–1	1–1	4–1
Lyon	0–2	2–0	3–0	4–1	2–1	5–1	0–0	0–0		1–1	6–1	2–4	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–0	1–2	3–0	3–0	4–1
Marseille	1–2	4–1	0–0	0–1	1–1	0–0	1–1	1–1	1–1		3–3	2–2	1–1	0–1	1–2	1–0	2–5	1–1	1–1	6–0
Monaco	1–0	2–0	1–2	1–1	2–2	3–2	0–0	2–3	1–1	2–1		2–0	1–0	1–0	0–3	2–2	1–1	1–0	4–0	3–1
Montpellier	0–2	2–0	0–1	1–2	0–2	2–1	3–0	2–1	0–2	0–1	2–3		2–1	0–2	0–1	3–1	2–0	1–2	2–0	4–1
Nantes	2–0	0–0	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–0	0–3	2–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–2		1–0	1–4	1–0	0–2	2–1	1–1	3–0
Nice	2–1	0–2	6–1	2–1	3–0	0–1	0–0	2–1	3–0	1–1	1–2	1–0	1–2		0–3	2–0	3–0	2–0	1–0	2–1
Paris SG	5–1	2–0	2–2	6–0	2–0	3–0	0–0	3–1	5–1	2–1	0–2	0–0	4–0	4–1		4–1	4–0	4–1	5–0	4–1
Reims	2–1	0–1	4–1	0–1	1–2	0–1	1–0	4–1	4–1	1–0	0–1	2–3	2–1	1–1	1–1		2–2	1–1	1–3	1–1
Rennes	1–0	1–2	2–2	1–1	1–0	0–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–1	1–1	1–0	4–1	1–4	0–1	3–1		0–1	3–1	1–1
Saint-Étienne	1–0	2–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	3–0	0–1	2–0	1–0	0–2	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–4	0–2	3–0	1–1		0–0	1–0
Toulouse	1–2	4–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	2–3	2–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–0	2–0	0–1	2–2	1–2	2–1		1–0
Troyes	0–1	1–1	2–4	1–3	0–0	0–1	1–1	0–1	0–1	1–1	0–0	0–0	0–1	3–3	0–9	2–1	2–4	0–1	0–3

Source: Ligue 1
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[30]
1	Zlatan Ibrahimović	Paris Saint-Germain	38
2	Alexandre Lacazette	Lyon	21
3	Edinson Cavani	Paris Saint-Germain	19
4	Michy Batshuayi	Marseille	17
	Hatem Ben Arfa	Nice
	Wissam Ben Yedder	Toulouse
7	Valère Germain	Nice	14
8	Benjamin Moukandjo	Lorient	13
9	Andy Delort	Caen	12
	Ousmane Dembélé	Rennes

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of Ligue 1 hat-tricks

Player	Club	Against	Result	Date
Nabil Fekir	Lyon	Caen	4–0 (H)	29 August 2015
Alexandre Lacazette	Lyon	Saint-Étienne	3–0 (H)	8 November 2015
Wissam Ben Yedder	Toulouse	Reims	3–1 (H)	9 January 2016
Ousmane Dembélé	Rennes	Nantes	4–1 (H)	6 March 2016
Zlatan Ibrahimović4	Paris Saint-Germain	Troyes	9–0 (H)	13 March 2016
Zlatan Ibrahimović	Paris Saint-Germain	Nice	4–1 (H)	2 April 2016
Hatem Ben Arfa	Nice	Rennes	3–0 (H)	10 April 2016
Sofiane Boufal	Lille	Gazélec Ajaccio	4–2 (H)	16 April 2016
Edinson Cavani	Paris Saint-Germain	Gazélec Ajaccio	4–0 (A)	7 May 2016
Alexandre Lacazette	Lyon	Monaco	6–1 (H)	7 May 2016

Note

⁴ Player scored 4 goals

Awards

See also: Trophées UNFP du football

Award[31]	Winner	Club
Player of the Season	Zlatan Ibrahimović	Paris Saint-Germain
Young Player of the Season	Ousmane Dembélé	Rennes
Goalkeeper of the Season	Steve Mandanda	Marseille
Goal of the Season	Pierrick Capelle	Angers
Manager of the Season	Laurent Blanc	Paris Saint-Germain

Team of the Year[32]
Goalkeeper	Steve Mandanda (Marseille)
Defenders	Serge Aurier (Paris Saint-Germain)	David Luiz (Paris Saint-Germain)	Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain)	Maxwell (Paris Saint-Germain)
Midfielders	Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain)	Lassana Diarra (Marseille)		Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Forwards	Ángel Di María (Paris Saint-Germain)	Zlatan Ibrahimović (Paris Saint-Germain)		Hatem Ben Arfa (Nice )

Attendances

#	Football club	Home games	Average attendance[33]
1	Paris Saint-Germain	19	46,160
2	Olympique de Marseille	19	42,015
3	Olympique lyonnais	19	40,296
4	AS Saint-Étienne	19	30,328
5	Lille OSC	19	30,268
6	FC Nantes	19	25,226
7	Girondins de Bordeaux	19	25,088
8	Stade rennais	19	23,180
9	OGC Nice	19	19,192
10	SM Caen	19	17,661
11	Toulouse FC	19	16,306
12	EA Guingamp	19	14,804
13	Angers SCO	19	13,500
14	Stade de Reims	19	13,482
15	Montpellier HSC	19	12,839
16	ESTAC	19	12,472
17	FC Lorient	19	11,988
18	SC Bastia	19	11,563
19	AS Monaco	19	7,838
20	GFCA	19	3,719