THIRD TITLE IN ROW FOR PSG

Paris St Germain clinched a third successive Ligue 1 title, with a game to spare, and stayed on course for an unprecedented domestic treble with a 2-1 win at Montpellier on Saturday.
The Qatari-owned club needed only a point but ended the night eight points clear of their closest rivals Olympique Lyonnais who were held to a 1-1 home draw by Girondins Bordeaux.

The title kept Laurent Blanc's side on course for a sweep of domestic honours, with the Parisians already winners of the League Cup and facing second tier AJ Auxerre in the French Cup final at the end of the month.Monaco stayed third on 68 points, four adrift of Lyon, after beating Metz 2-0 in the principality while Olympique Marseille and St Etienne also won to stay tied on 66 in the battle for a place in next season's Champions League preliminary round.

Evian Thonon Gaillard joined Racing Lens and Metz in being relegated after losing 2-1 to St Etienne.

"I love watching the scenes of joy, whether on the field or in the locker room," said a delighted Blanc. "The players on the field earn the titles, we play a small part.

"We must let the players express themselves and the coach must always be behind them. It's not up to him to be at the front of the stage."

Midfielder Blaise Matuidi put PSG ahead in the 17th minute, slotting past goalkeeper Jonathan Ligali after a defence-splitting pass from Adrien Rabiot.

Ezequiel Lavezzi made it 2-0 in the 25th minute, from a cross by Serge Aurier, his eighth league goal of the season but Montpellier pulled one back five minutes before the break through Anthony Mounier's shot into the top corner.The win was the eighth in a row in the league for PSG who claimed their fifth French title.

The match, watched by a 27,930 crowd at the Stade de la Mosson, ended with flares lit in the stands and thrown on to the edge of the pitch with stewards stamping out the flames.

"I still enjoy doing this job," said Blanc. "I have to thank my staff because without his staff a coach is nothing at all."

Step One to Fixing Bayern Munich: A Long-Term Commitment From Coach

Where now for Pep Guardiola and Bayern Munich?

The coach and the club have been dodging the wrong questions this week as the club was blasted out of the Champions League by a Spanish opponent for the second straight year.

Tuesday’s victory was rendered Pyrrhic from the moment that the Barcelona front three sliced open Bayern’s defense twice in the first half, allowing the Catalan club to rest its important players for other contests to come. It was right for Guardiola and Munich’s chairman, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, to say that their team went out with dignity against “probably the best side in the world.”

Though Barcelona did not rout Bayern in its own arena as Real Madrid did a year ago in the tournament, this contest was over long before Luis Enrique, Guardiola’s eventual successor at Barça, took off Luis Suárez, Ivan Rakitic and Andrés Iniesta to save energy for the battles ahead. Lionel Messi was already by then taking his own rest and virtually sleepwalking through the second half in the Allianz Arena.

That Robert Lewandowski refused to surrender without scoring a magnificent goal augurs well for the German champion. However, behind the sportsmanlike smiles and congratulations, missing out on a Champions League final in Berlin will hurt Munich, and deeply.

There is work, big rebuilding work, to be done with Bayern.

So when Guardiola was cornered by the media on Monday and asked about rumors that he is wanted by Manchester City, his response was not the full answer. “I’ve already said 200 million times,” he said, “I’ll be here next season. That’s it. I have a year left on my contract.”

That is not even half the question of what Bayern needs to know. The team against Barcelona was gutted by injuries, most importantly to its flying wingers, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry. But it was also without the key defenders David Alaba and Holger Badstuber, and aches and fatigue also affected some who did play, like Xabi Alonso, Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

The Germans among those players deny themselves the excuse that the Champions League semifinals they lost last year and this year sandwiched an event that was just as important to them, and arguably more so: the 2014 World Cup.

Age is becoming a factor to the German club, too. Six from the Bavarian team — which peaked two years ago when it won the treble of the Champions League, the Bundesliga and the German Cup in the same season — are now over 30. That need not be a terminal age for a player today, thanks to improved medical and dietary care and rosters that are large enough to rotate star players.

However, Ribéry and Robben may never again reach the peak they did in 2013 under Jupp Heynckes’s final season as coach. Ribéry is 32 now and Robben is 31. Alonso is 33, Lahm 31, and dear old Schweinsteiger, though only just 30, looks what he is — a ferocious competitor who has pushed himself through countless knocks and strains while playing for both club and country.

Players will always be the last to call time on their own splendid careers at the top. Coaches and club officials have to do that for them, and Matthias Sammer, the sporting director who sits alongside Rummenigge, is fully aware that the future will not take care of itself without the club intervening in those careers and then either buying new players or promoting replacements from the club’s academy.

This is where the question asked of Guardiola is insufficient.

It should not be whether he intends to see out the final year on his contract, but whether he is prepared right now to sign up for at least another three years. Whoever chooses the players to invest money in must be committed beyond the next immediate term, and if Guardiola is to have a major say in recruitment, then Bayern needs to know his intentions.

The decisions are pressing, and it is now that Bayern Munich must be feeling the absence of Uli Hoeness. He was the man who two years ago pursued and persuaded Guardiola to leave his yearlong sabbatical in New York and come to Munich.

Hoeness, an executive with the club since 1979 and its president from 2009 to 2014, had worked hand in hand with Rummenigge to make their club omnipotent in Germany, but he was jailed last year for tax fraud and is still serving time, though he has been granted work-release privileges.

So it falls to Rummenigge and to Sammer to plot the future. They say they trust in Guardiola, even if his mission to change the style of play employed under Heynckes is, at best, an unfinished project.

In part, the problem is that Bayern does not have to be the best in Europe to win the German league. With Borussia Dortmund having stumbled — brought down by Munich’s ability to lure or, if necessary, buy Dortmund’s finest players — the next-closest team has routinely been 15 points off the pace in challenging Bayern in the Bundesliga this season.

Even with that domestic dominance, and the option it afforded Guardiola to rotate a large squad, the injuries of the past season mounted intolerably. Barcelona, by contrast, was forced last summer to recruit more stars than it possibly needed because of a looming embargo in the following two transfer windows that was imposed by FIFA.

Barcelona is fit and healthy and has players to spare in the run-up to the Spanish and Champions League titles. Luis Enrique doesn't say much outside of what he is obligated to in answering questions from reporters, but one thing he did permit himself to say on Tuesday was this: “We can still win every competition we are in.”

NO LEAGUE GOALS THERE SINCE 2012, DESPITE SUPERB RECORD VS ATLÉTICO

If there is one player who has sparkled against Atlético de Madrid in the history of the Spanish league then that is Leo Messi. The 'Rojiblancos' are one of Messi's favoured victims, although it has to be said that he has not actually scored at the Calderón in La Liga since 26th February 2012. But still. It doesn't alter the fact that he has netted 18 goals against the team from the banks of the Manzanares in 17 games played against them. Only against Sevilla has he notched more - 19.

So dealing with Messi is going to be quite a headache for Diego Simeone, although last season he pushed the right button, electing to construct a kind of cage of players around Messi and managing to hold him in check. But this season is different. Messi is the old Messi once again and has two main aims.

The first of these, clinching the league title on Sunday at the Calderón, is something which is completely in the hands of the Barcelona side. Winning, or equalling Real Madrid's result at Espanyol's Cornellà stadium will be enough.

His second aim is more personal, and this is to win the Pichichi and thus the European Golden Shoe, At the moment it is Cristiano Ronaldo who is in the lead in this, with two goals more than Messi, who has two games left to catch up with Ronaldo, who does not appear to be on his best form at the moment.

It seems that this term Messi might have found the door of Simeone's cage, having scored in both games against Atlético at the Camp Nou. He will arrive at the Calderón at the peak of his powers, with a role totally different from what he had in other seasons, with the freedom to roam all over the pitch

NEGOTIATING WITH UNITED

David de Gea is the chosen one to be the next Real Madrid goalkeeper. The player earmarked by Vicente del Bosque for a "soft transition" to replace Casillas for Spain could also be Iker's successor at the Bernabéu.

'Los Blancos' and De Gea have agreed comprehensive terms, but the most difficult and tortuous part is yet to come - negotiations with Manchester United.

At the Real Madrid offices in Concha Espina, Florentino Pérez and those around him have been quite clear about the fact that signing a keeper for next season is a top priority. And they firmly believe that De Gea is going to be the Spanish no. 1 over the next ten years, and will take over from Casillas in due course.

The club rates this factor very highly, that whoever inherits the mantle from a legend such as Iker should also be a Spanish goalkeeper, someone who could follow in the veteran's distinguished footsteps for club and country. Once De Gea became aware that Real Madrid's interest was serious, the idea of renewing his contract with United, up in 2016, was dropped.

Since then, the shotstopper has rejected a string of big-money offers from the suits at Old Trafford, the last of which was worth €7.5 million a season after tax.

It is worth noting that De Gea's agent, Jorge Mendes, has a fantastic relationship both with Florentino Pérez and with the United owners. He was instrumental in the talks between Real Madrid and De Gea and now has a key role to play to broker a transfer. The Red Devils higher-ups do not want De Gea to go, but have had to face the fact that the Atlético academy graduate wants to leave. That doesn't mean they are going to make it easy, however… or cheap.

If it weren't for his contractual situation, De Gea, who turns 25 in November, would easily be worth €50m, as he is viewed as one of the top goalies in the world alongside Thibaut Courtois and Manuel Neuer. United forked out €20m to prise him from the Calderón in 2011 and his stock has only risen since then. Real Madrid are willing to pay a world-record fee for a goalkeeper to land their man, but they remain hopeful that they can secure his signature for no more than €30m.

GERRARD WILL NEVER WALK ALONE

After seventeen years, Steven Gerrard has bid farewell to Anfield. The Reds captain played his last game at home in front of his home crowd. Liverpool lost 3-1 to Crystal Palace, but for once a win was not what the fans had come to see.

Despite the defeat, the game will go down in Liverpool history, not least thanks to the beautiful tribute that the club and fans paid to their player.

The midfielder walked down the corridor that led out onto the pitch for the last time, walking down the steps and touching the 'This is Anfield' sign, there to remind all that this isn't any old ground, for the last time. Anfield, his home, his people, gave him an emotional send-off like no other.

The game itself mattered little. Those that had paid at the turnstiles to enter were there to bid farewell to their captain and thank him for 17 years of service. Crystal Palace and Zaha dampened the festivities somewhat.

Liverpool's Lallana opened up the scoring but was soon to be equalled by Puncheon from a free kick just before the break. In the second half, Zaha made it 2-1 for Palace from an offside position and then went on to be awarded a penalty, even though he had been fouled outside the box. Murray was lucky enough to get on the end of the rebound and make it 3-1.

The result didn't mar the farewell event, although 'Stevie' perhaps deserved to be sent on his way with a victory for The Reds. But that's football, as he himself well knows. The captain himself played the same hardworking, intense game as always, pressing hard and giving his all for the Liverpool cause.

When the referee blew the final whistle, Anfield stood up in applause, while Gerrard's teammates all rallied round to give him a hug and a pat on the back. With each hug, another tear from the Liverpool veteran. With each pat on the back, the captain was surely remembering the more than 500 games he has played for his club.

Not a man comfortable with long, drawn-out farewells, Gerrard wanted to make his way to the dressing room as soon as he could. But Anfield had other plans. Nobody got up to leave the stadium. Nobody wanted this to be any old farewell. It was a goodbye to the team's captain and the fans wanted to show how important he was to them.

So they stood, their scarves held high, flags waving, letting him know that he may be leaving, but that they would be forever grateful, that he would never walk alone.

AVOIDS TALKING ABOUT THE FUTURE

Carlo Ancelotti has assured that Real Madrid "will give it our all until the figures show that there's no hope".

League game against Espanyol: "We know that it is an important game; we have to bounce back after Wednesday's match. The team have trained well and we are focussed on tomorrow's game."

Looking back on the season: "I am proud of this team. We have given our all. The final analysis will be carried out at the end of the season. The league isn't over yet. We'll talk again after these two games."

To continue or not to continue: "I understand that people are interested in my future, but our perspective is different. There are still two games to go and we have to do our best because we are still in with a chance. We have to graft and fight hard in these two games. Then there will be time to talk about the future."

Support from Florentino: "He spurs us on; he has urged us to play our last two games well and that is what we are going to do."

Relationship with the players: "We have been working together for two years now and my relationship with the players is a close one. It always will be; we have such trust in each other and such respect that it will always be this way."

Bale: "He has performed well, he has had some good moments when the team was on a roll and a harder time of it when the team was not doing so well. He has had a few minor problems but has become more used to playing with the team."