How the French title was won

Lille ended a 57-year wait to win the French league title after drawing 2-2 at Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday, thereby completing a league and French Cup double.

Here is a look back at the twists and turns that took place over the course of the Ligue 1 title race.

AUGUST

Defending champions Marseille get off to a disastrous start by losing 2-1 at home to newly promoted Caen on the season's opening day, with Paris Saint-Germain the first team to head the table after beating Saint-Etienne 3-1.

Marseille then lose 3-2 at Valenciennes, while Caen produce another huge upset with a 3-2 victory at home to Lyon.

Lyon break their transfer record to buy France playmaker Yoann Gourcuff from Bordeaux for 22 million euros but his debut proves something of a let-down as his new employers go down 2-0 at Lorient.

Four consecutive victories take Toulouse to the top of the standings by the end of the month, with Lille in 11th place after opening their account with four straight draws against Rennes, PSG, Sochaux and Nice.

SEPTEMBER

Marseille belatedly begin moving in the right direction in September, drawing 2-2 at home to Monaco, winning 3-0 at Arles-Avignon and beating Sochaux 2-1 to climb to sixth place.

Lyon, however, continue to flounder and slip into the relegation zone after a 75th-minute free-kick by Dimitri Payet earns Saint-Etienne a 1-0 victory at Stade Gerland in the 100th Derby du Rhone.

Saint-Etienne lead the table going into October, for the first time since February 1982, with Lille in seventh place but yet to lose after seven matches.

OCTOBER

Marseille continue to creep up the table, drawing 1-1 at Saint-Etienne, beating Nancy 1-0 and winning 3-1 at Lille to end the month three points off the pace in third place with a game in hand.

Defeat by OM leaves Lille in eighth place, level on points with Lyon, who start to turn their season around with wins against Nancy, Lille and Sochaux.

Rennes go top, for the first time in 40 years, after winning 3-1 at home to Toulouse but promoted Brest take over at the summit as goals from Mario Licka and Romain Poyet see off Saint-Etienne in a 2-0 win at Stade Francis Le Ble.

NOVEMBER

PSG puncture arch-rivals Marseille's momentum early in November, with Brazilian forward Nene magisterial in a 2-1 victory at Parc des Princes that ends the champions' eight-game unbeaten run.

Didier Deschamps's side are then held to a 1-1 draw by Lens but respond with wins against Toulouse (1-0) and Montpellier (4-0) that take them back to the top of the pile for the first time since the end of the previous season.

Lille beat Brest 3-1, thrash Caen 5-2 (with Moussa Sow claiming a first career hat-trick), edge Monaco 2-1 and then draw 1-1 at Bordeaux to end the month in second place, behind OM on goal difference.

As December dawns, the top 12 teams in the table are separated by just five points.

DECEMBER

Marseille edge a point clear by drawing 0-0 with Rennes in a rearranged game on December 1 but it is Lille who sign off for the winter break in pole position.

An injury-time goal from Emerse Fae sees Marseille slip to a 1-0 defeat at Nice and Lille capitalise immediately, Sow netting another hat-trick in a 6-3 annihilation of Lorient that puts Rudi Garcia's men two points clear.

Substitute Tulio de Melo's 93rd-minute header gives Lille a 1-0 win at Arles-Avignon and they hold on to the Christmas number one spot despite a 1-1 draw at home to Saint-Etienne.

Draws with Auxerre, Lyon and Brest extend Marseille's winless run to five games and they end the year three points behind Lille in fifth.

JANUARY

Lille immediately hit their stride with a 2-0 win at Nice, before Eden Hazard and Gervinho inspire a 3-0 defeat of Nancy that puts the leaders four points clear of their title rivals.

Marseille end the month in fifth, meanwhile, after a 0-0 draw at third-bottom Monaco that Deschamps brands "rubbish".

A neat De Melo finish brings Lille a 1-0 victory over northern neighbours Lens that maintains their four-point advantage.

PSG go into February into second place, three points clear of Lyon and Rennes.

FEBRUARY

With four minutes to play at Auxerre, Lille are 1-0 up and heading for a seven-point lead, only for Polish defender Dariusz Dudka to net a late equaliser and give hope to the chasing pack.

Lille respond by beating Toulouse 2-0 but then wobble, losing 1-0 at Montpellier and drawing 1-1 at home to Lyon.

Their five-point lead is whittled down to goal difference by the end of the month, with Rennes drawing level on points thanks to a four-game winning run featuring victories against PSG, Nice, Toulouse and Lens.

Marseille, PSG and Lyon also capitalise on Lille's stuttering form and just four points separate the top five teams at the end of the month.

MARCH

Lille go into their match at Marseille on March 6 three points behind Rennes after the Brittany side make it five wins from five by winning 1-0 at Montpellier.

The pressure is on, but Lille prevail thanks to a 91st-minute winner from substitute Pierre-Alain Frau after Hazard's 35-yard opener is cancelled out by Loic Remy.

The 2-1 victory proves the catalyst for a run of four straight wins and Lille end the month four points clear of Marseille.

OM react in impressive fashion to their defeat, however, winning 2-0 at Rennes and then avenging November's loss at PSG with a 2-1 victory at Stade Velodrome, thereby damaging both teams' title aspirations.

APRIL

Lyon's hopes of winning an eighth Ligue 1 crown receive a fatal blow as they let slip a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at Nice and fall eight points off the pace.

Lille show further signs of nerves, however, with Adil Rami's sloppy back-pass allowing Park Chu-Young to score the only goal of the game in a 1-0 defeat at Monaco.

Consecutive 1-1 draws against Bordeaux and Lorient follow for Lille, enabling Marseille to return to the top of the table after Ghana winger Andre Ayew notches a treble in a 4-2 win at Nice.

With six games remaining, Marseille lead Lille by a point, with Lyon five points off the pace in third place and PSG three points further back in fourth.

MAY

Against all expectations, and with the finishing line in sight, Marseille falter, drawing 1-1 at home to Auxerre and then losing 3-2 at Lyon in a thrilling game decided by an 84th-minute winner from OL skipper Cris.

Lille crush relegated Arles-Avignon 5-0 to re-assert control of the title race before successive away wins at Nancy (1-0) and Saint-Etienne (2-1).

Marseille beat Brest 3-0 but then drew 2-2 at Lorient on May 15, leaving Lille requiring four points from their final three games to claim a first league title since 1954.

Fresh from their victory over PSG in the French Cup final, Lille win 1-0 at home to Sochaux before securing the Ligue 1 crown by drawing 2-2 in an intense and fiercely contested encounter with PSG at Parc des Princes.