2017–18 Ligue 2

The 2017–18 Ligue 2 (referred to as the Domino's Ligue 2 for sponsorship reasons^[2]) season was the 79th season since its establishment.

Ligue 2

Season	2017–18
Champions	Reims
Promoted	Reims Nîmes
Relegated	Bourg-Péronnas Quevilly-Rouen Tours
Matches played	380
Goals scored	1,035 (2.72 per match)
Top goalscorer	24 goals Umut Bozok, Nîmes
Biggest home win	Lorient 6–0 Bourg-Péronnas (4 May 2018)
Biggest away win	Bourg-Péronnas 0–6 Lens (13 October 2017)
Highest scoring	Bourg-Péronnas 5–4 AC Ajaccio (2 March 2018)
Highest attendance	35,520 Lens vs Reims (21 October 2017)
Lowest attendance	588 Quevilly-Rouen vs Bourg-Péronnas (11 August 2017)
Average attendance	6,484[1]
← 2016–17 2018–19 → All statistics correct as of 21:43, 11 May 2018 (UTC).

Teams

There are 20 clubs in the league, with three promoted teams from Championnat National replacing the three teams that were relegated from Ligue 2 following the 2016–17 season. All clubs that secured Ligue 2 status for the season were subject to approval by the DNCG before becoming eligible to participate.

Team changes

Promoted from 2016–17 Championnat National Quevilly-Rouen Châteauroux Paris FC Relegated from 2016–17 Ligue 1 Nancy Lorient

Promoted to 2017–18 Ligue 1 Troyes Amiens Strasbourg Relegated to 2017–18 Championnat National Laval Red Star

Stadia and locations

AC Ajaccio

Auxerre

Bourg-Péronnas

Brest

Châteauroux

Clermont

Gazélec

Le Havre

Lens

Lorient

Nancy

Nîmes

Niort

Orléans

Paris FC

Quevilly-Rouen

Reims

Sochaux

Tours

Valenciennes

Location of teams in 2017–18 Ligue 2

Club	Location	Venue	Capacity
AC Ajaccio	Ajaccio	Stade François Coty	10,446
Auxerre	Auxerre	Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps	21,379
Bourg-Péronnas	Bourg-en-Bresse	Stade Marcel-Verchère	11,400
Brest	Brest	Stade Francis-Le Blé	15,097
Châteauroux	Châteauroux	Stade Gaston Petit	17,173
Clermont Foot	Clermont-Ferrand	Stade Gabriel Montpied	11,980
Gazélec Ajaccio	Ajaccio	Stade Ange Casanova	8,000
Le Havre	Le Havre	Stade Océane	25,000
Lens	Lens	Stade Bollaert-Delelis	38,223
Lorient	Lorient	Stade du Moustoir	18,890
Nancy	Tomblaine	Stade Marcel Picot	20,087
Nîmes	Nîmes	Stade des Costières	18,482
Niort	Niort	Stade René Gaillard	10,886
Orléans	Orléans	Stade de la Source	7,000
Paris FC	Paris	Stade Charléty	20,000
Quevilly-Rouen	Le Petit-Quevilly	Stade Robert Diochon	12,018
Reims	Reims	Stade Auguste Delaune	21,684
Sochaux	Montbéliard	Stade Auguste Bonal	20,000
Tours	Tours	Stade de la Vallée du Cher	16,247
Valenciennes	Valenciennes	Stade du Hainaut	25,172

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager1	Captain1	Kit Manufacturer1	Main Sponsor1
AC Ajaccio	Olivier Pantaloni	Johan Cavalli	Adidas	Corse du Sud
Auxerre	Pablo Correa	Mickaël Tacalfred	Macron	Remorques LOUALT, Vitrans
Bourg-Péronnas	Hervé Della Maggiore	Jimmy Nirlo	Adidas	BestDrive
Brest	Jean-Marc Furlan	Bruno Grougi	Nike	Quéguiner
Châteauroux	Jean-Luc Vasseur	Yannick M'Bone	Nike	Monin
Clermont	Pascal Gastien	Thomas Fontaine	Patrick	Crédit Mutuel
Gazélec Ajaccio	Albert Cartier	Jérémie Bréchet	Macron	Carrefour, Casino D'Ajaccio
Le Havre	Oswald Tanchot	Alexandre Bonnet	Joma	Api
Lens	Éric Sikora	Clément Chantôme	Umbro	Auchan Retail
Lorient	Mickaël Landreau	Vincent Le Goff	Kappa	B&B Hotels, Jean Floc'h
Nancy	Didier Tholot	Youssouf Hadji	Nike	Sopalin
Nîmes	Bernard Blaquart	Féthi Harek	Puma	Marie Blachère
Niort	Jean-Philippe Faure	Alliou Dembélé	Erima	Restaurant Le Billon (home), Cheminées Poujoulat (away)
Orléans	Didier Ollé-Nicolle	Matthieu Ligoule	Kappa	CTVL
Paris	Fabien Mercadal	Hervé Lybohy	Nike	Vinci
Quevilly-Rouen	Emmanuel Da Costa	Stanislas Oliveira	Kappa	Matmut
Reims	David Guion	Danilson da Cruz	Hungaria	Sanei Ascenseurs
Sochaux	Peter Zeidler	Florian Tardieu	Lotto	Ledus
Tours	Jorge Costa	Bryan Bergougnoux	Kappa	Corsicatours
Valenciennes	Réginald Ray	Sébastien Roudet	Kipsta	Mutuelle Just

¹Subject to change during the season.

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Reims	Michel Der Zakarian	Signed by Montpellier	23 May 2017[3]	Pre-season	David Guion	25 May 2017[4]
Lorient	Bernard Casoni	Sacked	30 May 2017		Mickaël Landreau	30 May 2017[5]
Sochaux	Albert Cartier	Resigned	1 June 2017		Peter Zeidler	2 June 2017[6]
Gazélec Ajaccio	Jean-Luc Vannuchi	Resigned	26 May 2017		Albert Cartier	30 May 2017[7]
Auxerre	Cédric Daury	Appointed as Sporting Director	1 June 2017		Francis Gillot	1 June 2017[8]
Châteauroux	Michel Estevan	Sacked	1 June 2017		Jean-Luc Vasseur	2 June 2017[9]
Lens	Alain Casanova	Sacked	20 August 2017[10]	19th	Éric Sikora	20 August 2017
Nancy	Pablo Correa	Sacked	29 August 2017[11]	16th	Vincent Hognon	30 August 2017[12]
Clermont Foot	Corinne Diacre	Signed by France women	30 August 2017 [13]	8th	Pascal Gastien	1 September 2017[14]
Valenciennes	Faruk Hadžibegić	Sacked	26 September 2017[15]	14th	Réginald Ray	14 October 2017[16]
Tours	Gilbert Zoonekynd	Sacked	16 October 2017[17]	20th	Jorge Costa	22 November 2017[18]
Auxerre	Francis Gillot	Sacked	9 December 2017[19]	16th	Pablo Correa	21 December 2017[20]
Nancy	Vincent Hognon	Sacked	22 January 2018	17th	Patrick Gabriel (caretaker)	28 January 2018
Niort	Denis Renaud	Sacked	26 February 2018	14th	Jean-Philippe Faure (caretaker)	26 February 2018
Nancy	Patrick Gabriel (caretaker)	End of caretaker	3 April 2018	18th	Didier Tholot	3 April 2018

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or Relegation
1	Reims (C, P)	38	28	4	6	74	24	+50	88	Promotion to Ligue 1
2	Nîmes (P)	38	22	7	9	75	37	+38	73
3	Ajaccio	38	20	8	10	62	43	+19	68	Qualification to promotion play-offs semi-final
4	Le Havre	38	19	9	10	53	34	+19	66	Qualification to promotion play-offs quarter-final
5	Brest	38	18	11	9	58	43	+15	65
6	Clermont	38	17	12	9	54	36	+18	63
7	Lorient	38	18	8	12	61	46	+15	62
8	Paris FC	38	16	13	9	46	36	+10	61
9	Châteauroux	38	17	9	12	50	50	0	60
10	Sochaux	38	15	8	15	51	62	−11	53
11	Auxerre	38	13	8	17	51	55	−4	47
12	Orléans	38	12	10	16	52	61	−9	46
13	Valenciennes	38	12	9	17	50	64	−14	45
14	Lens	38	11	10	17	48	49	−1	43
15	Niort	38	11	9	18	47	60	−13	42
16	Gazélec Ajaccio	38	11	8	19	35	60	−25	41
17	Nancy	38	9	11	18	39	54	−15	38
18	Bourg-Péronnas (R)	38	10	6	22	50	87	−37	36	Qualification to relegation play-offs
19	Quevilly-Rouen (R)	38	9	6	23	45	66	−21	33	Relegation to Championnat National
20	Tours (R)	38	5	8	25	34	68	−34	23

Source: Ligue 2
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored; 6) Head-to-head away goals; 7) Goals scored; 8) Away goals scored; 9) Most goals scored in one league match; 10) Fair-play points
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away	GAZ	ACA	AUX	BPE	BRS	CHA	CLR	LHA	RCL	LOR	NAL	NMS	NRT	ORL	PAR	QUR	REI	SOC	TOU	VAL
Gazélec Ajaccio		0–1	3–1	1–2	1–1	2–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–0	2–1	2–0	0–2	1–0	0–0	1–0	1–2	0–1	3–2	3–4
Ajaccio	2–0		3–1	2–0	2–1	1–2	2–1	1–0	2–0	3–2	2–0	1–4	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–1	3–2	2–1	3–0
Auxerre	0–1	1–1		3–1	1–2	1–2	1–2	1–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	0–0	5–0	1–3	1–1	2–1	1–4	2–0	1–1	2–0
Bourg-Péronnas	2–0	5–4	1–1		2–4	3–0	0–2	2–1	0–6	2–2	3–2	2–2	0–1	4–0	1–2	3–5	0–2	2–1	1–1	1–3
Brest	0–0	2–3	1–1	3–0		2–3	1–0	1–0	1–1	3–0	2–1	0–2	2–0	0–1	1–1	2–0	0–0	1–0	1–3	3–1
Châteauroux	4–1	0–2	1–2	3–1	2–2		0–2	2–1	0–0	3–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–0	3–2	3–1	1–1	1–0	0–1
Clermont	1–0	1–1	1–0	4–1	1–2	1–1		3–0	1–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	4–2	2–2	1–1	2–1	0–2	2–0	3–0
Le Havre	2–1	2–0	4–1	0–0	1–0	1–1	2–1		1–0	3–2	3–0	2–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–0	1–0	2–0	1–0
Lens	2–0	2–0	2–1	0–1	2–4	2–1	0–1	3–3		2–3	1–1	1–2	3–1	0–1	1–0	2–0	0–1	0–1	2–0	1–1
Lorient	4–1	2–0	1–3	6–0	4–2	3–0	1–1	1–0	1–1		0–0	1–2	0–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	2–1	2–0	0–1
Nancy	1–0	2–2	2–1	2–1	2–2	4–1	2–2	0–3	1–1	0–2		0–2	0–0	3–0	0–1	1–2	0–2	2–2	3–1	3–0
Nîmes	4–0	1–1	3–0	4–0	4–0	3–0	3–1	1–0	0–1	1–0	0–0		1–5	4–1	2–1	4–1	0–1	0–2	2–2	1–0
Niort	4–1	0–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–1	1–1	0–1	2–2	1–2	0–0	1–4		2–3	0–2	2–1	1–2	1–1	2–1	1–2
Orléans	2–0	0–0	2–3	5–1	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–1	2–0	1–2	3–1	1–4	3–1		1–1	2–1	0–2	3–3	1–1	3–4
Paris	0–0	2–1	2–1	2–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–3	2–2	1–1	2–1	2–1	0–1	1–0		2–0	0–3	2–0	2–0	3–2
Quevilly-Rouen	0–2	0–1	4–1	1–4	1–4	0–1	0–2	0–2	1–2	3–0	2–0	1–3	1–2	1–0	0–4		1–2	1–1	4–0	2–2
Reims	5–0	1–0	2–0	3–0	0–1	4–0	1–0	0–1	3–1	0–1	3–0	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–1		3–0	1–0	5–1
Sochaux	4–1	1–6	0–4	2–0	1–1	1–5	1–3	3–2	3–2	0–2	1–0	2–1	2–1	3–2	1–0	0–1	2–4		0–0	3–1
Tours	1–2	1–3	0–2	3–2	1–2	0–1	0–0	0–3	4–2	3–1	1–2	0–4	2–1	1–1	1–2	2–2	0–1	0–1		1–2
Valenciennes	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–2	0–0	1–2	0–0	1–1	1–0	4–2	0–1	1–2	4–1	0–1	2–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0

Source: Ligue 2
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Promotion play-offs

A promotion play-off competition was held at the end of the season, involving the 3rd, 4th and 5th-placed teams in 2017–18 Ligue 2, and the 18th-placed team in 2017–18 Ligue 1.

The quarter-final was played on 15 May, the semi-final on 18 May and the final on 23 and 27 May 2018.^[21]

	Quarter-final					Semi-final					Final
						3	Ajaccio (p)	2 (5)
						4	Le Havre	2 (3)
	4	Le Havre	2
	5	Brest	0
											3	Ajaccio	0	0	0
											18	Toulouse	3	1	4

Quarter-final

Le Havre	2–0	Brest
Fontaine 38' Bonnet 88'

15 May 2018

20:45

Stade Océane, Le Havre

Attendance: 13,591^[22]

Referee: Benoît Millot

Semi-final

Ajaccio	2–2 (a.e.t.)	Le Havre
Gimbert 16' Camara 120+5'	Report	Mateta 36', 111' (pen.)
Penalties
Selemani Laçi Camara Lejeune Gimbert	5–3	Ferhat Guitane Fontaine Gory

20 May 2018^[A]

19:00

Stade François Coty, Ajaccio

Attendance: 6,541

Referee: Frank Schneider

Notes

1. ^
   The date and time of the match was postponed from 18 May after fans of Ajaccio did not let Le Havre's bus reach the stadium.^[23]

Relegation play-offs

A relegation play-off was held at the end of the season between the 18th-placed Ligue 2 team and the 3rd-placed team of 2017–18 Championnat National. This was played over two legs on 22 and 27 May 2018.^[21]

Grenoble	2–1	Bourg-Péronnas
Sotoca 1' Elogo  69' Belvito 83'	Report	Bègue 45+1'

22 May 2018

20:45

Stade des Alpes, Grenoble

Referee: Nicolas Rainville

---

Bourg-Péronnas	0–0	Grenoble
Sarr  90+5'	Report

27 May 2018

18:00

Stade Marcel-Verchère, Bourg-en-Bresse

Attendance: 4,700

Referee: François Letexier

Grenoble are promoted to 2018–19 Ligue 2

Top scorers

As of 11 May 2018 ^[24]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Umut Bozok	Nîmes	24
2	Rachid Alioui	Nîmes	17
	Theoson Siebatcheu	Reims
	Jean-Philippe Mateta	Le Havre
5	Dona Ndoh	Niort	15
6	Ludovic Ajorque	Clermont	14
	Pablo Chavarría	Reims
8	Ghislain Gimbert	Ajaccio	13
	Riad Nouri	Ajaccio
10	Florian Martin	Sochaux	12
	Yoane Wissa	Ajaccio/Lorient
	Yannick Gomis	Orléans
	Malik Tchokounté	Paris