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
Season2019–20
Dates26 July 2019 – 30 April 2020
ChampionsLorient
PromotedLorient
Lens
RelegatedOrléans
Le Mans
Matches played280
Goals scored610 (2.18 per match)
Top goalscorer20 goals
Tino Kadewere, Le Havre
Biggest home winSochaux 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 winChambly 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 scoring8 goals
Niort 4–4 Paris FC
Round 22, 31 January 2020
Longest winning run5 (Lorient)
Longest unbeaten run12 (Clermont)
Longest winless run9 (Paris FC
Auxerre
Sochaux)
Longest losing run5 (Le Mans
Rodez
Niort)
Highest attendance32,011[1]
Lens 1–0 Lorient
Round 13, 2 November 2019
Lowest attendance391[1]
Chambly 3–2 Niort
Round 18, 13 December 2019
Average attendance6,768[1]

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

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Team changes

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

Stadia and locations

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

References

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  1. ^ a b c "French Ligue 2 Performance Stats – 2019–20". ESPN. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Coup d'envoi pour la Domino's Ligue 2" (in French). lfp.fr. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  3. ^ "France suspends all football over coronavirus". Eurosport. 12 March 2020.
  4. ^ "LFP : le communiqué de la Ligue" (in French). foot-national.com. 30 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Le Mans et Orléans dans l'attente, une L2 à 22 ?" (in French). foot-national.com. 30 April 2020.
  6. ^ "La Ligue 2 avec 22 clubs refusée par la FFF" (in French). foot-national.com. 27 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Promu en Ligue 2 sans stade aux normes, le FC Chambly arrache un accord pour jouer à Beauvais" (in French). francetvinfo.fr. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Alain Perrin s'en va". asnl.net (in French). 14 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Mickaël Landreau n'est plus l'entraîneur de Lorient". L'Équipe (in French). 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Ligue 2: Lorient confirme l'arrivée de Christophe Pelissier". L'Équipe (in French).
  11. ^ "Communiqué Officiel Commun EAG / Jocelyn Gourvennec". eaguingamp.com (in French). 22 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  12. ^ "EA Guingamp. Patrice Lair officiellement nommé entraîneur". ouest-france.fr (in French). 29 May 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Guingamp: Patrice Lair va partir" (in French). foot-national.com. 23 September 2019.
  14. ^ "EA Guingamp. Après le licenciement de Patrice Lair, Sylvain Didot pour au moins deux matches ?" (in French). Ouest France. 24 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Guingamp: Le nouvel entraîneur officialisé, le communiqué du club" (in French). foot-national.com. 7 October 2019.
  16. ^ "Caen: Rui Almeida suspendu de ses fonctions" (in French). foot-national.com. 28 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Caen: Pascal Dupraz nouvel entraîneur (off)" (in French). foot-national.com. 1 October 2019.
  18. ^ "C'est fini entre le Paris FC et Bazdarevic". Eurosport (in French). 30 December 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  19. ^ "René Girard, nouvel entraîneur du Paris FC". Radio France Internationale (in French). 2 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Niort se sépare de Pascal Plancque". TV5Monde (in French). 5 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  21. ^ "Niort: a former Marseille coach (off)" (in French). foot-national.com. 13 January 2020.
  22. ^ "Orléans : Ollé-Nicolle écarté (off.)" (in French). foot-national.com. 16 January 2020.
  23. ^ "Orléans - Carrière : "On a tout à gagner"" (in French). foot-national.com. 17 January 2020.
  24. ^ "Le Mans : Richard Déziré et le club se séparent (off)" (in French). foot-national.com. 23 February 2020.
  25. ^ "Le Mans - Ray : "Enclencher une nouvelle dynamique"" (in French). foot-national.com. 2 March 2020.
  26. ^ "Ligue 2 : Lens écarte son entraîneur Philippe Montanier". Le Parisien (in French). Archived from the original on 2020-02-26. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  27. ^ "COMMUNIQUÉ DU RACING". RC Lens (in French). [permanent dead link]
  28. ^ "Le COMEX valide les montées de Pau et Dunkerque" (in French). foot-national.com. 11 May 2020.
  29. ^ "French Ligue 2 Statistics". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
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