PARIS - While the thumping hangover following Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League exit in midweek still lingers, the capital club might be able to sooth the pain by securing the Ligue 1 title on Sunday. Laurent Blanc’s expensively-assembled squad were within minutes of the semifinal spot they so badly craved at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge before a late Demba Ba strike took the Londoners through on away goals and plunged PSG into depression. They must now turn their attentions to putting the finishing touches on an almost perfect domestic campaign, and they stand on the brink of a fourth French title as they travel to Lyon on Sunday night. Nearest challengers Monaco sit 13 points adrift in second place with six games to go, and if they lose away to Rennes on Saturday, the path will be clear for PSG to win a second straight championship by beating Lyon at the Stade de Gerland, the same venue where they wrapped up the title last year. The match against Remi Garde’s fifth-placed Lyon side will also serve as a rehearsal for the League Cup final between the two teams at the Stade de France on Saturday, 19 April. Blanc’s reported contract extension past 2015 appeared a formality before the derailment in London but with the club’s Qatari owners craving Champions League success, reports this week suggest that he could yet be axed.
