2020–21 Ligue 2

The 2020–21 Ligue 2 season, also known as Ligue 2 BKT for sponsorship reasons, was the 82nd season of second-division football in France, and the 19th season since the division was rebranded as Ligue 2 from Division 2. Due to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the announcement of the start and end dates for the season was delayed. There were suggestions that the season would feature just 18 teams, as opposed to the usual 20, after France's highest administrative court overturned the relegations of Amiens and Toulouse from Ligue 1;^[1] however, the relegations were reinstated by the General Assembly of the LFP with a vote on 23 June 2020.^[2] The league fixtures were announced on 9 July 2020 and the league season began on 22 August 2020 and ended on 15 May 2021.^[3]

Ligue 2

Season	2020–21
Dates	22 August 2020 – 15 May 2021
Champions	Troyes
Promoted	Troyes Clermont
Relegated	Châteauroux Chambly
Matches played	380
Goals scored	910 (2.39 per match)
← 2019–20 2021–22 →

Teams

Team changes

from Championnat National	to Ligue 1	from Ligue 1	to Championnat National
Pau Dunkerque	Lorient Lens	Amiens Toulouse	Orléans Le Mans

Stadia and locations

Ajaccio

Amiens

Auxerre

Caen

Chambly

Châteauroux

Clermont

Dunkerque

Grenoble

Guingamp

Le Havre

Nancy

Niort

Paris FC

Pau

Rodez

Sochaux

Toulouse

Troyes

Valenciennes

Location of teams in 2020–21 Ligue 2

Club	Location	Venue	Capacity
Ajaccio	Ajaccio	Stade François Coty	10,446
Amiens	Amiens	Stade de la Licorne	12,097
Auxerre	Auxerre	Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps	21,379
Caen	Caen	Stade Michel d'Ornano	21,215
Chambly	Beauvais	Stade Pierre Brisson	10,178
Châteauroux	Châteauroux	Stade Gaston Petit	17,173
Clermont Foot	Clermont-Ferrand	Stade Gabriel Montpied	11,980
Dunkerque	Dunkirk	Stade Marcel-Tribut	4,200
Grenoble	Grenoble	Stade des Alpes	20,068
Guingamp	Guingamp	Stade de Roudourou	18,378
Le Havre	Le Havre	Stade Océane	25,178
Nancy	Tomblaine	Stade Marcel Picot	20,087
Niort	Niort	Stade René Gaillard	10,886
Paris FC	Paris (13th arrondissement)	Stade Charléty	20,000
Pau	Pau	Nouste Camp	13,819
Rodez	Rodez	Stade Paul-Lignon	5,955
Sochaux	Montbéliard	Stade Auguste Bonal	20,005
Toulouse	Toulouse	Stadium Municipal	33,150
Troyes	Troyes	Stade de l'Aube	21,684
Valenciennes	Valenciennes	Stade du Hainaut	25,172

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Main sponsor
Ajaccio	Olivier Pantaloni	Cédric Avinel	Adidas	Auchan Atrium
Amiens	Oswald Tanchot	Prince-Désir Gouano	Puma	Intersport
Auxerre	Jean-Marc Furlan	Birama Touré	Macron	Remorques LOUALT
Caen	Stéphane Moulin	Jonathan Rivierez	Umbro	Maisons France Confort (H), Campagne de France (A & 3)
Châteauroux	Marco Simone	Yannick M'Boné	Nike	Monin
Chambly	Bruno Luzi	Thibault Jaques	Umbro	Flint
Clermont	Pascal Gastien	Jonathan Iglesias	Patrick	Crédit Mutuel
Dunkerque	Fabien Mercadal	Axel Maraval	Kappa	Intersport
Grenoble	Philippe Hinschberger	Brice Maubleu	Nike	Carrefour, Sempa, BONTAZ
Guingamp	Frédéric Bompard	Youssouf M'Changama	Umbro	Servagroupe (H), Aroma Celte (A)
Le Havre	Paul Le Guen	Alexandre Bonnet	Joma	Filiassur, SEAFRIGO Group
Nancy	Jean-Louis Garcia	Ernest Seka	Puma	Lor Port
Niort	Sébastien Desabre	Dylan Louiserre	Erima	Restaurant Le Billon (H), Cheminées Poujoulat (A)
Paris FC	René Girard	Vincent Demarconnay	Nike	Vinci
Pau	Didier Tholot	Antoine Batisse	Adidas	Iroise Bellevie
Rodez	Laurent Peyrelade	Pierre Bardy	Adidas	Max Outil
Sochaux	Omar Daf	Gaëtan Weissbeck	Nike	Nedey Automobiles
Toulouse	Patrice Garande	Ruben Gabrielsen	Joma	Triangle Interim
Troyes	Laurent Batlles	Jimmy Giraudon	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
Niort	Franck Passi	End of contract	6 June 2020[4]	Pre-season	Sébastien Desabre	16 June 2020[5]
Toulouse	Denis Zanko	End of interim	22 June 2020		Patrice Garande	22 June 2020[6]
Guingamp	Sylvain Didot	Sacked	30 August 2020[7]	15th	Mehmed Baždarević	30 August 2020
Amiens	Luka Elsner		28 September 2020[8]	15th	Oswald Tanchot	16 October 2020[9]
Châteauroux	Nicolas Usaï		13 December 2020[10]	18th	Benoît Cauet	1 January 2021[11]
Guingamp	Mehmed Baždarević	Mutual consent	1 February 2021[12]	17th	Frédéric Bompard	1 February 2021
Châteauroux	Benoît Cauet	Sacked	10 March 2021[13]	20th	Marco Simone	10 March 2021
Caen	Pascal Dupraz		23 March 2021[14]	14th	Fabrice Vandeputte	23 March 2021

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or Relegation
1	Troyes (C, P)	38	23	8	7	60	36	+24	77	Promotion to Ligue 1
2	Clermont (P)	38	21	9	8	61	25	+36	72
3	Toulouse	38	20	10	8	71	42	+29	70	Qualification to promotion play-offs
4	Grenoble	38	18	11	9	51	35	+16	65
5	Paris FC	38	17	13	8	53	37	+16	64
6	Auxerre	38	16	14	8	64	43	+21	62
7	Sochaux	38	12	15	11	45	37	+8	51
8	Nancy	38	11	14	13	53	53	0	47
9	Guingamp	38	10	17	11	41	43	−2	47
10	Amiens	38	11	14	13	34	40	−6	47
11	Valenciennes	38	12	11	15	50	59	−9	47
12	Le Havre	38	11	14	13	38	48	−10	47
13	Ajaccio	38	11	13	14	34	43	−9	46
14	Pau	38	11	11	16	42	49	−7	44
15	Rodez	38	8	19	11	38	44	−6	43
16	Dunkerque	38	10	11	17	34	47	−13	41
17	Caen	38	9	14	15	34	49	−15	41
18	Niort (O)	38	9	14	15	34	58	−24	41	Qualification for the relegation play-offs
19	Chambly (R)	38	9	11	18	41	64	−23	38	Relegation to Championnat National
20	Châteauroux (R)	38	4	11	23	32	58	−26	23

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; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away	AJA	AMI	AUX	CAE	FCC	CHA	CLE	DUN	GRE	GUI	HAC	NAN	NIO	PFC	PAU	ROD	SOC	TFC	TRO	VAL
Ajaccio	—	2–2	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–1	0–2	1–0	2–1	0–2	1–1	1–0	3–0	1–1	4–1	1–0	1–1	0–1	0–4	3–0
Amiens	0–0	—	1–1	0–0	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	1–0	0–3	0–0	1–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	0–1	0–1	3–1	3–1
Auxerre	5–1	2–1	—	1–1	4–0	4–1	0–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	6–0	0–0	2–1	0–1	0–2	3–1	2–1	1–1
Caen	1–0	1–0	0–0	—	0–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	1–0	0–2	2–1	1–0	0–2	1–1	1–2	1–4	2–2	0–0	1–1
Chambly	2–1	2–0	0–1	4–2	—	2–1	0–3	0–1	1–2	3–0	0–1	1–1	1–1	0–3	1–0	1–0	1–4	1–1	0–3	1–2
Châteauroux	0–0	0–0	1–2	2–2	4–0	—	0–1	1–2	0–1	2–3	0–1	1–4	2–0	1–2	0–3	1–1	2–1	0–3	1–2	3–3
Clermont	0–2	3–0	1–0	0–0	1–0	2–1	—	5–0	3–0	0–0	1–1	2–0	0–0	3–2	3–0	3–0	3–1	1–1	2–1	4–0
Dunkerque	3–1	1–1	0–1	2–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	—	1–1	1–0	0–1	1–2	2–0	0–1	2–2	0–0	1–0	3–3	0–0	1–0
Grenoble	2–0	0–0	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	1–2	4–0	—	2–1	2–1	1–0	1–1	0–0	1–1	1–0	2–0	5–3	2–0	2–0
Guingamp	2–2	2–2	2–0	2–2	1–0	2–0	0–5	0–0	1–0	—	1–3	0–0	0–1	0–0	2–3	1–1	0–0	1–1	1–2	1–1
Le Havre	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–2	2–4	1–1	0–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	—	1–1	0–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	0–2	0–1	3–2	0–2
Nancy	2–0	2–2	2–2	1–0	3–3	2–1	1–0	2–1	1–2	2–2	0–1	—	2–2	1–1	1–0	2–2	0–0	1–3	2–3	1–3
Niort	2–0	0–2	0–4	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–2	0–0	0–2	0–0	1–0	—	2–2	2–1	1–1	1–3	1–0	0–3	0–3
Paris FC	1–1	4–2	0–3	3–1	3–0	1–0	0–1	1–0	2–0	3–2	3–0	0–2	3–3	—	1–0	1–1	0–0	3–1	1–1	1–0
Pau	0–0	2–0	3–0	1–0	1–3	1–0	2–1	3–1	0–2	0–1	2–0	1–1	4–1	1–1	—	1–1	0–0	0–3	0–1	4–3
Rodez	0–1	1–2	2–2	0–3	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–0	—	1–1	1–0	0–1	3–0
Sochaux	0–2	0–2	2–3	1–0	3–2	0–0	0–0	1–0	1–1	0–0	4–0	1–1	3–4	1–2	1–1	2–2	—	0–1	2–1	2–0
Toulouse	3–0	3–0	3–1	3–0	4–0	1–0	3–2	0–1	2–0	2–2	4–3	4–1	2–1	1–0	2–2	3–0	0–0	—	0–0	4–5
Troyes	1–0	2–1	3–1	1–0	2–2	2–0	1–0	2–0	3–1	1–0	2–0	1–5	1–0	2–1	2–0	2–1	2–1	1–1	—	1–1
Valenciennes	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–0	2–1	1–0	1–3	1–0	0–1	0–1	3–5	2–3	1–1	2–0	3–0	1–1	0–0	1–0	2–2	—

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 2020–21 Ligue 2, and the 18th-placed team in 2020–21 Ligue 1.

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

Quarter-final

Semi-final

Final

3B

Toulouse

3

4B

Grenoble

0

4B

Grenoble

2

5B

Paris FC

0

3B

Toulouse

1

1

2

18A

Nantes

2

0

2(a)

Round 1

18 May 2021 (2021-05-18)

20:45 CEST

Grenoble	2–0	Paris
Anani 8' Semedo 87'	Report

Stade des Alpes, Grenoble

Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors)

Referee: Bastien Depechy

---

Round 2

21 May 2021 (2021-05-21)

20:45 CEST

Toulouse	3–0	Grenoble
Spierings 3' Koné 23' Healey 90+2'	Report

Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse

Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors)

Referee: Amaury Delerue

---

Promotion Play-offs '1st leg'

27 May 2021 (2021-05-27)

20:45 CEST

Toulouse	1–2	Nantes
Machado 19'	Report	Blas 10' Kolo Muani 22'

Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse

Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors)

Referee: Jérémie Pignard

'2nd leg'

30 May 2021 (2021-05-30)

18:00 CEST

Nantes	0–1	Toulouse
	Report	Bayo 62'

La Beaujoire-Louis Fonteneau, Nantes

Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors)

Referee: Benoît Bastien

2–2 on aggregate. Nantes won on away goals and therefore both clubs remained in their respective leagues.

---

Relegation play-offs

A relegation play-off was held at the end of the season between the 18th-placed team of the 2020–21 Ligue 2 and the 3rd-placed team of the 2020–21 Championnat National. This was played over two legs on 19 and 22 May.^[16]

19 May 2021

19:00 CEST

Villefranche	3–1	Niort
Blanc 54' Dauchy 84' Garita 90+3'	Report	Bâ 45+2'

Stade Armand Chouffet, Villefranche-sur-Saône

Attendance: 0

Referee: Bartolomeu Varela Teles

---

22 May 2021

20:45 CEST

Niort	2–0	Villefranche
Lebeau 78' Kemen 81'	Report

Stade René Gaillard, Niort

Attendance: 0

Referee: Nicolas Rainville

3–3 on aggregate. Niort won on away goals and therefore both clubs remained in their respective leagues.

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Mohamed Bayo	Clermont	22
2	Mickaël Le Bihan	Auxerre	19
3	Yoann Touzghar	Troyes	16
4	Pape Ibnou Bâ	Niort	14
	Rémy Dugimont	Auxerre
	Rhys Healey	Toulouse
7	Jim Allevinah	Clermont	12
	Mickaël Biron	Nancy
	Jodel Dossou	Clermont
10	Baptiste Guillaume	Valenciennes	11