2019–20 Ligue 2

The 2019–20 Ligue 2 (referred to as the Domino's Ligue 2 for sponsorship reasons^[2]) season was the 81st season since its establishment. The season was suspended indefinitely on 12 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3]

Ligue 2

Season	2019–20
Dates	26 July 2019 – 30 April 2020
Champions	Lorient
Promoted	Lorient Lens
Relegated	Orléans Le Mans
Matches played	280
Goals scored	610 (2.18 per match)
Top goalscorer	20 goals Tino Kadewere, Le Havre
Biggest home win	Sochaux 4–0 Clermont Round 10, 5 October 2019 Lens 4–0 Sochaux Round 15, 23 November 2019 Le Havre 4–0 Guingamp Round 15, 25 November 2019
Biggest away win	Chambly 1–5 Guingamp Round 13, 1 November 2019 Troyes 0–4 Chambly Round 15, 22 November 2019 Orléans 0–4 Lorient Round 17, 3 December 2019 Châteauroux 1–5 Guingamp Round 19, 20 December 2019 Sochaux 0–4 Lorient Round 22, 1 February 2020
Highest scoring	8 goals Niort 4–4 Paris FC Round 22, 31 January 2020
Longest winning run	5 (Lorient)
Longest unbeaten run	12 (Clermont)
Longest winless run	9 (Paris FC Auxerre Sochaux)
Longest losing run	5 (Le Mans Rodez Niort)
Highest attendance	32,011[1] Lens 1–0 Lorient Round 13, 2 November 2019
Lowest attendance	391[1] Chambly 3–2 Niort Round 18, 13 December 2019
Average attendance	6,768[1]
← 2018–19 2020–21 →

On 28 April 2020, the French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced that there would be no sporting events, even behind closed doors, before September 2020, thus in effect ending the season. On 30 April 2020, the LFP declared Lorient as champions of Ligue 2, and that the top two clubs would be promoted to Ligue 1, meaning Lens were promoted as well.^[4] The decision on relegations was deferred to the general assembly of the FFF on 20 May 2020.^[5]

On 27 May 2020, the executive committee of the FFF rejected a proposal by the LFP to have 22 clubs in the 2020–21 competition, which would have seen Orléans and Le Mans remain in the competition.^[6]

Teams

Team changes

The following were team changes with respect to the 2018–19 Ligue 2 season.

Promoted from 2018–19 Championnat National Rodez Chambly Le Mans Relegated from 2018–19 Ligue 1 Caen Guingamp

Promoted to 2019–20 Ligue 1 Metz Brest Relegated to 2019–20 Championnat National Gazélec Ajaccio Béziers Red Star

Stadia and locations

Ajaccio

Auxerre

Caen

Chambly

Châteauroux

Clermont

Grenoble

Guingamp

Le Havre

Le Mans

Lens

Lorient

Nancy

Niort

Orléans

Paris FC

Rodez

Sochaux

Troyes

Valenciennes

Location of teams in 2019–20 Ligue 2

Club	Location	Venue	Capacity
Ajaccio	Ajaccio	Stade François Coty	10,446
Auxerre	Auxerre	Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps	21,379
Caen	Caen	Stade Michel d'Ornano	21,215
Chambly	Chambly	Stade Pierre Brisson[a][7]	10,178
Châteauroux	Châteauroux	Stade Gaston Petit	17,173
Clermont Foot	Clermont-Ferrand	Stade Gabriel Montpied	11,980
Grenoble	Grenoble	Stade des Alpes	20,068
Guingamp	Guingamp	Stade de Roudourou	18,378
Le Havre	Le Havre	Stade Océane	25,178
Le Mans	Le Mans	MMArena	25,064
Lens	Lens	Stade Bollaert-Delelis	37,705
Lorient	Lorient	Stade du Moustoir	18,890
Nancy	Tomblaine	Stade Marcel Picot	20,087
Niort	Niort	Stade René Gaillard	10,886
Orléans	Orléans	Stade de la Source	7,000
Paris FC	Paris (13th arrondissement)	Stade Charléty	20,000
Rodez	Rodez	Stade Paul-Lignon	5,955
Sochaux	Montbéliard	Stade Auguste Bonal	20,005
Troyes	Troyes	Stade de l'Aube	21,684
Valenciennes	Valenciennes	Stade du Hainaut	25,172

1. Chambly arranged to play 15 of their home matches at Stade Pierre Brisson and four at Stade Charléty as their home stadium, Stade des Marais, did not meet the required standards to host Ligue 2 football and would be undergoing renovation during the season.

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Main sponsor
Ajaccio	Olivier Pantaloni	Johan Cavalli	Adidas	Auchan Atrium
Auxerre	Jean-Marc Furlan	Jordan Adéoti	Macron	Remorques LOUALT
Caen	Pascal Dupraz	Prince Oniangué	Umbro	Maisons France Confort (H), Campagne de France (A & 3)
Châteauroux	Nicolas Usaï	Yannick M'Boné	Nike	Monin
Chambly	Bruno Luzi	Thibault Jaques	Umbro	Flint
Clermont	Pascal Gastien	Jonathan Iglesias	Patrick	Crédit Mutuel
Grenoble	Philippe Hinschberger	Brice Maubleu	Nike	Carrefour, Sempa, BONTAZ
Guingamp	Sylvain Didot	Christophe Kerbrat	Umbro	Servagroupe (H), Aroma Celte (A)
Le Havre	Paul Le Guen	Alexandre Bonnet	Joma	Filiassur, SEAFRIGO Group
Le Mans	Réginald Ray	Stéphen Vincent	Kappa	Veolia
Lens	Franck Haise	Walid Mesloub	Macron	Auchan Retail
Lorient	Christophe Pélissier	Fabien Lemoine	Kappa	B&B Hotels, Jean Floc'h
Nancy	Jean-Louis Garcia	Ernest Seka	Nike	Sempa
Niort	Franck Passi	Matthieu Sans	Erima	Restaurant Le Billon (H), Cheminées Poujoulat (A)
Orléans	Cyril Carrière	Gauthier Pinaud	Kappa	CTVL
Paris FC	René Girard	Vincent Demarconnay	Nike	Vinci
Rodez	Laurent Peyrelade	Pierre Bardy	Adidas	Max Outil
Sochaux	Omar Daf	Maxence Prévot	Lotto	Nedey Automobiles
Troyes	Laurent Batlles	Stéphane Darbion	Le Coq Sportif	Babeau Seguin
Valenciennes	Olivier Guégan	Laurent Dos Santos	Acerbis	Mutuelle Just

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Nancy	Alain Perrin	End of interim	14 May 2019[8]	Pre-season	Jean-Louis Garcia	30 May 2019
Auxerre	Cédric Daury		17 May 2019		Jean-Marc Furlan	17 May 2019
Lorient	Mickaël Landreau	Mutual consent	18 May 2019[9]		Christophe Pélissier	29 May 2019[10]
Guingamp	Jocelyn Gourvennec		24 May 2019[11]		Patrice Lair	29 May 2019[12]
Caen	Fabien Mercadal		25 May 2019		Rui Almeida	9 June 2019
Le Havre	Oswald Tanchot		28 May 2019		Paul Le Guen	29 May 2019
Valenciennes	Réginald Ray	End of contract	6 June 2019		Olivier Guégan	6 June 2019
Troyes	Rui Almeida	Signed by Caen	9 June 2019		Laurent Batlles	14 June 2019
Guingamp	Patrice Lair	Sacked	23 September 2019[13]	14th	Sylvain Didot	24 September 2019 (caretaker)[14] 7 October 2019 (permanent)[15]
Caen	Rui Almeida		28 September 2019[16]	17th	Pascal Dupraz	1 October 2019[17]
Paris FC	Mehmed Baždarević		30 December 2019[18]	19th	René Girard	2 January 2020[19]
Niort	Pascal Plancque		5 January 2020[20]	18th	Franck Passi	13 January 2020[21]
Orléans	Didier Ollé-Nicolle		16 January 2020[22]	20th	Cyril Carrière	17 January 2020 (interim)[23]
Le Mans	Richard Déziré		23 February 2020[24]	19th	Réginald Ray	2 March 2020[25]
Lens	Philippe Montanier	Sacked	25 February 2020[26]	2nd	Franck Haise	25 February 2020[27]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or Relegation
1	Lorient (C, P)	28	17	3	8	45	25	+20	54	Promotion to Ligue 1
2	Lens (P)	28	15	8	5	39	24	+15	53
3	Ajaccio	28	15	7	6	38	22	+16	52
4	Troyes	28	16	3	9	34	25	+9	51
5	Clermont	28	14	8	6	35	25	+10	50
6	Le Havre	28	11	11	6	38	25	+13	44
7	Valenciennes	28	11	9	8	24	20	+4	42
8	Guingamp	28	10	9	9	40	33	+7	39
9	Grenoble	28	7	14	7	27	29	−2	35
10	Chambly	28	9	8	11	26	32	−6	35
11	Auxerre	28	8	10	10	31	30	+1	34
12	Nancy	28	6	16	6	27	26	+1	34
13	Caen	28	8	10	10	33	34	−1	34
14	Sochaux	28	8	10	10	28	30	−2	34
15	Châteauroux	28	9	7	12	22	38	−16	34
16	Rodez	28	8	8	12	31	34	−3	32
17	Paris FC	28	7	7	14	22	40	−18	28
18	Niort[a]	28	6	8	14	30	41	−11	26
19	Le Mans (R)	28	7	5	16	30	45	−15	26	Relegation to Championnat National
20	Orléans (R)	28	4	7	17	21	43	−22	19

Source: Ligue 2
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Fair play points
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Originally, the 18th-placed Ligue 2 team would play in promotion-relegation play-offs at the end of the season with a team from the Championnat National to decide whether they would remain in Ligue 2 for the 2020–21 season, but the play-offs were cancelled and the 18th- placed team remained in Ligue 2.

Results

Home \ Away	AJA	AUX	CAE	FCC	CHA	CLE	GRE	GUI	HAC	LMF	LEN	LOR	NAN	NIO	ORL	PFC	ROD	SOC	TRO	VAL
Ajaccio	—	2–3	1–2	—	0–1	1–1	3–1	—	2–2	2–0	1–2	1–0	0–0	—	0–0	1–0	1–0	—	—	2–0
Auxerre	3–1	—	1–1	0–0	—	0–0	0–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	—	—	0–0	3–1	2–2	—	—	2–1	1–2	1–1
Caen	0–1	—	—	0–0	1–1	0–0	2–0	—	0–3	3–3	0–2	1–2	1–0	4–3	2–1	—	—	—	0–1	0–0
Chambly	0–2	1–4	0–1	—	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–5	—	2–2	—	0–1	2–1	3–2	1–0	1–2	—	0–0	—	1–0
Châteauroux	0–1	1–0	2–1	0–3	—	—	1–1	1–5	0–3	—	3–2	1–3	—	1–1	—	0–1	0–0	1–1	0–1	—
Clermont	—	1–1	—	—	3–0	—	—	—	2–1	0–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–0	3–1	0–1	0–1	2–0	3–2	3–1
Grenoble	0–1	—	1–0	0–0	0–1	1–1	—	—	1–1	—	2–2	—	1–1	3–1	0–0	0–0	2–1	—	1–1	1–3
Guingamp	1–1	1–0	1–1	—	—	1–2	3–3	—	—	3–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	—	1–0	—	4–1	1–1	0–1	0–1
Le Havre	—	1–0	1–1	1–1	0–1	—	3–1	4–0	—	2–0	0–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	0–0	—	—	1–0	—
Le Mans	2–4	0–1	—	1–0	1–2	—	0–0	2–1	—	—	1–2	1–2	1–1	1–0	3–2	—	0–0	2–0	—	1–2
Lens	—	0–0	1–4	3–0	1–0	1–1	0–0	2–0	1–3	—	—	1–0	—	1–0	1–0	2–1	—	4–0	1–0	—
Lorient	0–0	1–0	2–1	1–2	—	0–1	2–1	0–1	—	4–2	—	—	2–1	4–1	—	3–0	2–1	1–0	0–1	—
Nancy	—	—	—	3–0	2–1	1–2	—	0–1	—	2–1	0–0	1–1	—	2–1	0–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–0	1–0
Niort	0–1	2–2	1–1	—	3–0	—	0–1	0–0	0–1	—	—	—	1–1	—	2–0	4–4	2–1	0–2	0–2	1–0
Orléans	0–3	—	—	0–1	1–1	0–1	—	2–0	2–2	—	1–4	0–4	—	0–1	—	0–1	1–2	1–0	0–2	0–1
Paris FC	2–3	2–0	2–4	0–3	—	0–2	—	0–3	1–0	0–3	0–2	—	—	0–1	—	—	0–0	1–1	1–0	—
Rodez	—	2–0	2–1	2–0	1–2	—	—	2–1	1–2	4–1	1–2	0–1	1–1	—	3–3	2–1	—	0–2	—	1–1
Sochaux	0–2	1–0	0–0	—	—	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–0	—	0–4	3–0	—	—	1–1	1–1	—	0–1	0–0
Troyes	2–1	3–1	2–1	0–4	2–0	1–2	1–2	—	1–2	2–1	2–0	—	—	—	1–2	1–1	1–0	—	—	1–0
Valenciennes	0–0	—	—	—	0–1	1–0	0–2	0–0	0–0	1–0	2–0	3–0	1–1	1–1	—	1–0	1–0	3–2	—	—

Source: Ligue 2
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Promotion play-offs

A promotion play-off competition was originally to be held at the end of the season, involving the third, fourth and fifth-placed teams in 2019–20 Ligue 2, and the 18th-placed team in 2019–20 Ligue 1. However, the matches were cancelled and the 18th-placed Ligue 1 team remained in the same division.

Cancelled bracket

Quarter-final

Semi-final

Final

3

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

18th

N/A

Relegation play-offs

A relegation play-off was originally to be held at the end of the season between the 18th-placed Ligue 2 team and the third-placed team of the 2019–20 Championnat National. However, the matches were cancelled and both teams remained in their respective divisions.^[28]

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[29]
1	Tino Kadewere	Le Havre	20
2	Adrian Grbić	Clermont	17
3	Yoane Wissa	Lorient	15
	Ibrahim Sissoko	Niort
5	Teddy Chevalier	Valenciennes	12
6	Ugo Bonnet	Rodez	11
7	Gaëtan Courtet	Ajaccio	10
	Abdoulaye Sané	Sochaux
9	Pierre-Yves Hamel	Lorient	9
10	Jamal Thiaré	Le Havre	8
	Vincent Créhin	Le Mans
	Florian Sotoca	Lens