It’s one thing to win the league. It’s another thing entirely to win it in March.
Incredibly, that’s a feat Paris Saint-Germain have just pulled off this weekend, sealing the Ligue 1 title with a straightforward 9-0 thrashing of bottom-placed side Troyes.
FULL TIME: PSG give a championship-worthy performance at Troyes to win their 4th straight Ligue 1 title!! pic.twitter.com/3zHf0u98lA
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) March 13, 2016
PSG are 25 points ahead of second-placed Monaco and have eight games to spare, making it less of a title race in France and more one of those Fifa game saves when you have the difficulty on Semi-Pro.
The newly crowned French champions can now focus on completing a domestic treble, before setting their sights on a proper Champions League push.
Paris Saint-Germain’s title victory is one of the earliest on record. Here are some more one-horse race league wins.
England – Manchester United (00/01 & 12/13) – Five games of the season remaining.
Manchester United have twice wrapped up the Premier League with five games remaining. The first, in 2001, saw the Red Devils claim the title on April 14, eventually ending the season on 79 points and a 10-point lead over Arsenal.
The second was Sir Alex Ferguson’s final year in charge of United, with Robin Van Persie firing the team to an 86-point total and an 11-point gap to Manchester City.
Germany – Bayern Munich (13/14) – Seven games of the season remaining
In Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge, Bayern Munich went 28 games unbeaten on their way to the Bundesliga title in 2014. Not only would they wrap up the title on March 25, they would also close out the season by declaring they were signing league top scorer Robert Lewandowski from Borussia Dortmund. Because that’s fair.
Italy – Juventus (13/14) – Three games of the season remaining
Juventus wrapped up their 30th league title without having to kick a ball following Roma’s slip-up against Catania in early May. Juve would finish that season with a stonking 102 points on their way to a third successive Serie A title. That’s how you mark an anniversary.
