French football was back to square one. Paris Saint-Germain imposes itself, everyone else improves around the edges, and the title race becomes more of a countdown than a debate.
At the halfway point, Ligue 1 of the 2025-2026 season is behaving differently. The battle is intense, the margins are slim, and everyone's powers are being tested endlessly.
The lens is no longer a romantic subplot
After 17 matches, RC Lens is on top with 40 points, one point ahead of PSG, and the numbers are as solid as the atmosphere at the Stade Bollaert-Delices: 13 wins, 31 goals scored, 13 conceded. This is no lucky streak on the friendly fixture list. It's a first half defined by a tough defensive ceiling and an attack that keeps finding two-goals throughout the afternoon.
A large part of the story is structural. Lens appointed Pierre Sage to lead the 2025/26 campaign, a coach whose reputation was built on calming chaos and changing the mood of the season in one fast month. Lens look like a team that has accepted the pressure of being the victim and enjoys it. The league's best title challenges always start with a simple idea: control your own box, then force everyone else to chase the game.
PSG's margin of error is gone
PSG are in second place with 39 points after 17 games, still posting typical numbers: 37 scores, 15 conceding, and a goal difference that typically screams “champions-elect.” The difference is that someone is matching the beat. Every draw suddenly seems expensive, every distant trip has consequences, and the cushion of inevitability has disappeared.
The club's week-to-week reality still looks like PSG: depth, quality and the ability to win games on a wave of pressure. Their recent Trophy des Champions win over Marseille on 8 January 2026, decided on penalties after a 2–2 draw, was a reminder that they remain calm inside late game chaos. Luis Enrique's side can stumble inside a match and still find a way.
Marseille, Lille, Lyon: a crowded second row
Third and fourth places are on 32 points: Olympique de Marseille and Lille. Marseille's statistics look like a contender: 36 goals scored, 17 conceded, and enough big-match personality to keep the season vigorous. Roberto De Zerbi is in his second season at the Velodrome, and football still has his fingerprints on it: bravery in possession, restlessness in transition, and the occasional risk in the places it leaves.
Lille is level with Marseille on points and that matters as it keeps the Champions League places crowded. Lyon (30 points) and Rennes (30) are close enough to turn a strong month into top-four contention. Strasbourg (24) emerges as the kind of club that can shape the race by taking points from the bigger teams, while Monaco's mid-table position (23) reflects a first half that has been more uneven than their brilliance.
And then, there is pressure at the other end. Nantes, with its 14 points, is in a relegation playoff spot; Auxerre and Metz are in the automatic relegation places on 12 points. Everyone is fighting for points, and no one wants to give up a soft afternoon.
The names that keep coming up
The scoring charts highlight why the challenge is tough for everyone. Marseille's Mason Greenwood leads Ligue 1 at the halfway mark with 11 goals, a number that suits both the club's attacking ambition and the league's current instability. Strasbourg's Joaquin Panichelli has 10, Esteban Lepaul has 9 (in Angers/Rennes) and Lyon's Pavel Fee has 8. Lens are not reliant on a headline finisher, with Wesley Saeed and Odsonne Edouard both on 7.
PSG's threat is widespread. Bradley Barcola and Joao Neves are among the many players contributing, and the assist numbers reflect how the machine runs: Vitinha sits in a four-way tie for the league lead on assists with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Adrian Thomson and Ludovic Ajork on 6, while Mathieu Udol walks on 5. It's these kinds of details that matter in January, as they hint at what could be repeated when the legs get heavier and the fixtures tighten.
Betting turns every match into a lively debate
The modern Ligue 1 experience is built for the second screen. Fans watch matches, scroll through clips, check shots and expected goals, and debate in real time about substitutions. In the same flow, regulated sports betting has become another layer of participation, where the odds move with red cards or corners racing.
On nights when the tables feel one mistake away from being shuffled, plenty of supporters follow the markets via APK Melbet on their phones, treating the odds like another set of live statistics. The healthiest approach is discipline: set limits, avoid chasing losses, and remember that wagering is a choice, not a requirement of fans. When used responsibly, betting can draw attention to details that casual viewing misses, such as matchups, form and small tactical variations that decide tough games.
running around
The second half of the season will be defined by pressure games: Lens protecting the lead, PSG chasing with impatience, and Marseille and Lille trying to turn “close enough” into “right there”. The calendar becomes its own kind of rival, as this tight league is punished with more injuries and suspensions than usual.
For fans who prefer a mobile-first routine, the option to download Melbet (Arabic: تنجل Melbet) sits alongside highlights, team news and live statistics, keeping everything in one pocket when you're traveling or watching away from the television. The point is not to change the match with numbers, but to let the numbers dictate the match and therefore notice when a team stops pressing, when a full-back starts to settle, and when the temperature of the game changes.
A league that ultimately feels impatient
In the midst of a catharsis, Ligue 1 drama looks not like a procession but like an argument that could last until the spring. Lens have already earned their position at the top, PSG are very close to the surge, and the chasing crowd is strong enough to change the situation in the blink of an eye.
The first half of the season was all about proving that the fight is real; The second will be about surviving it. Titles are not won by being interesting; They win by being stubborn. For once, multiple clubs look stubborn in the same season, and thus a race becomes a story.