2017–18 Ligue 2
# 2017–18 Ligue 2

The 2017–18 Ligue 2 (referred to as the Domino's Ligue 2 for sponsorship reasons) season was the 79th season since its establishment.

## Teams

There are 20 clubs in the league, with three promoted teams from Championnat National replacing the three teams that were relegated from Ligue 2 following the 2016–17 season. All clubs that secured Ligue 2 status for the season were subject to approval by the DNCG before becoming eligible to participate.

### Stadia and locations

| Club | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| - | - | - | - |
| AC Ajaccio | Ajaccio | Stade François Coty | 10,446 |
| Auxerre | Auxerre | Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps | 21,379 |
| Bourg-Péronnas | Bourg-en-Bresse | Stade Marcel-Verchère | 11,400 |
| Brest | Brest | Stade Francis-Le Blé | 15,097 |
| Châteauroux | Châteauroux | Stade Gaston Petit | 17,173 |
| Clermont Foot | Clermont-Ferrand | Stade Gabriel Montpied | 11,980 |
| Gazélec Ajaccio | Ajaccio | Stade Ange Casanova | 8,000 |
| Le Havre | Le Havre | Stade Océane | 25,000 |
| Lens | Lens | Stade Bollaert-Delelis | 38,223 |
| Lorient | Lorient | Stade du Moustoir | 18,890 |
| Nancy | Tomblaine | Stade Marcel Picot | 20,087 |
| Nîmes | Nîmes | Stade des Costières | 18,482 |
| Niort | Niort | Stade René Gaillard | 10,886 |
| Orléans | Orléans | Stade de la Source | 7,000 |
| Paris FC | Paris | Stade Charléty | 20,000 |
| Quevilly-Rouen | Le Petit-Quevilly | Stade Robert Diochon | 12,018 |
| Reims | Reims | Stade Auguste Delaune | 21,684 |
| Sochaux | Montbéliard | Stade Auguste Bonal | 20,000 |
| Tours | Tours | Stade de la Vallée du Cher | 16,247 |
| Valenciennes | Valenciennes | Stade du Hainaut | 25,172 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | $Manager^1$ | $Captain^1$ | Kit $Manufacturer^1$ | Main $Sponsor^1$ |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| AC Ajaccio | Olivier Pantaloni | Johan Cavalli | Adidas | Corse du Sud |
| Auxerre | Pablo Correa | Mickaël Tacalfred | Macron | Remorques LOUALT, Vitrans |
| Bourg-Péronnas | Hervé Della Maggiore | Jimmy Nirlo | Adidas | BestDrive |
| Brest | Jean-Marc Furlan | Bruno Grougi | Nike | Quéguiner |
| Châteauroux | Jean-Luc Vasseur | Yannick M'Bone | Nike | Monin |
| Clermont | Pascal Gastien | Thomas Fontaine | Patrick | Crédit Mutuel |
| Gazélec Ajaccio | Albert Cartier | Jérémie Bréchet | Macron | Carrefour, Casino D'Ajaccio |
| Le Havre | Oswald Tanchot | Alexandre Bonnet | Joma | Api |
| Lens | Éric Sikora | Clément Chantôme | Umbro | Auchan Retail |
| Lorient | Mickaël Landreau | Vincent Le Goff | Kappa | B&B Hotels, Jean Floc'h |
| Nancy | Didier Tholot | Youssouf Hadji | Nike | Sopalin |
| Nîmes | Bernard Blaquart | Féthi Harek | Puma | Marie Blachère |
| Niort | Jean-Philippe Faure | Alliou Dembélé | Erima | Restaurant Le Billon (home), Cheminées Poujoulat (away) |
| Orléans | Didier Ollé-Nicolle | Matthieu Ligoule | Kappa | CTVL |
| Paris | Fabien Mercadal | Hervé Lybohy | Nike | Vinci |
| Quevilly-Rouen | Emmanuel Da Costa | Stanislas Oliveira | Kappa | Matmut |
| Reims | David Guion | Danilson da Cruz | Hungaria | Sanei Ascenseurs |
| Sochaux | Peter Zeidler | Florian Tardieu | Lotto | Ledus |
| Tours | Jorge Costa | Bryan Bergougnoux | Kappa | Corsicatours |
| Valenciennes | Réginald Ray | Sébastien Roudet | Kipsta | Mutuelle Just |

$^1Subject$ to change during the season.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Reims | Michel Der Zakarian | Signed by Montpellier | 23 May 2017 | Pre-season | David Guion | 25 May 2017 |
| Lorient | Bernard Casoni | Sacked | 30 May 2017 | Pre-season | Mickaël Landreau | 30 May 2017 |
| Sochaux | Albert Cartier | Resigned | 1 June 2017 | Pre-season | Peter Zeidler | 2 June 2017 |
| Gazélec Ajaccio | Jean-Luc Vannuchi | Resigned | 26 May 2017 | Pre-season | Albert Cartier | 30 May 2017 |
| Auxerre | Cédric Daury | Appointed as Sporting Director | 1 June 2017 | Pre-season | Francis Gillot | 1 June 2017 |
| Châteauroux | Michel Estevan | Sacked | 1 June 2017 | Pre-season | Jean-Luc Vasseur | 2 June 2017 |
| Lens | Alain Casanova | Sacked | 20 August 2017 | 19th | Éric Sikora | 20 August 2017 |
| Nancy | Pablo Correa | Sacked | 29 August 2017 | 16th | Vincent Hognon | 30 August 2017 |
| Clermont Foot | Corinne Diacre | Signed by France women | 30 August 2017 | 8th | Pascal Gastien | 1 September 2017 |
| Valenciennes | Faruk Hadžibegić | Sacked | 26 September 2017 | 14th | Réginald Ray | 14 October 2017 |
| Tours | Gilbert Zoonekynd | Sacked | 16 October 2017 | 20th | Jorge Costa | 22 November 2017 |
| Auxerre | Francis Gillot | Sacked | 9 December 2017 | 16th | Pablo Correa | 21 December 2017 |
| Nancy | Vincent Hognon | Sacked | 22 January 2018 | 17th | Patrick Gabriel (caretaker) | 28 January 2018 |
| Niort | Denis Renaud | Sacked | 26 February 2018 | 14th | Jean-Philippe Faure (caretaker) | 26 February 2018 |
| Nancy | Patrick Gabriel (caretaker) | End of caretaker | 3 April 2018 | 18th | Didier Tholot | 3 April 2018 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or Relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Reims (C, P) | 38 | 28 | 4 | 6 | 74 | 24 | +50 | 88 | Promotion to Ligue 1 |
| 2 | Nîmes (P) | 38 | 22 | 7 | 9 | 75 | 37 | +38 | 73 | Promotion to Ligue 1 |
| 3 | Ajaccio | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 62 | 43 | +19 | 68 | Qualification to promotion play-offs semi-final |
| 4 | Le Havre | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 53 | 34 | +19 | 66 | Qualification to promotion play-offs quarter-final |
| 5 | Brest | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 58 | 43 | +15 | 65 | Qualification to promotion play-offs quarter-final |
| 6 | Clermont | 38 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 54 | 36 | +18 | 63 | |
| 7 | Lorient | 38 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 61 | 46 | +15 | 62 | |
| 8 | Paris FC | 38 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 46 | 36 | +10 | 61 | |
| 9 | Châteauroux | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 50 | 50 | 0 | 60 | |
| 10 | Sochaux | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 51 | 62 | −11 | 53 | |
| 11 | Auxerre | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 51 | 55 | −4 | 47 | |
| 12 | Orléans | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 52 | 61 | −9 | 46 | |
| 13 | Valenciennes | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 50 | 64 | −14 | 45 | |
| 14 | Lens | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 48 | 49 | −1 | 43 | |
| 15 | Niort | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 47 | 60 | −13 | 42 | |
| 16 | Gazélec Ajaccio | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 35 | 60 | −25 | 41 | |
| 17 | Nancy | 38 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 39 | 54 | −15 | 38 | |
| 18 | Bourg-Péronnas (R) | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 50 | 87 | −37 | 36 | Qualification to relegation play-offs |
| 19 | Quevilly-Rouen (R) | 38 | 9 | 6 | 23 | 45 | 66 | −21 | 33 | Relegation to Championnat National |
| 20 | Tours (R) | 38 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 34 | 68 | −34 | 23 | Relegation to Championnat National |

## Results

| Home \ Away | GAZ | ACA | AUX | BPE | BRS | CHA | CLR | LHA | RCL | LOR | NAL | NMS | NRT | ORL | PAR | QUR | REI | SOC | TOU | VAL |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Gazélec Ajaccio | | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 3–4 |
| Ajaccio | 2–0 | | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| Auxerre | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Bourg-Péronnas | 2–0 | 5–4 | 1–1 | | 2–4 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–6 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 3–5 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| Brest | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 |
| Châteauroux | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Clermont | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 |
| Le Havre | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Lens | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–3 | | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Lorient | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 6–0 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| Nancy | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 |
| Nîmes | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 1–5 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Niort | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–4 | | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Orléans | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 3–1 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 3–4 |
| Paris | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 |
| Quevilly-Rouen | 0–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–4 | | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 |
| Reims | 5–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 3–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 |
| Sochaux | 4–1 | 1–6 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–4 | | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Tours | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | | 1–2 |
| Valenciennes | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | |

## Promotion play-offs

A promotion play-off competition was held at the end of the season, involving the 3rd, 4th and 5th-placed teams in 2017–18 Ligue 2, and the 18th-placed team in 2017–18 Ligue 1.

The quarter-final was played on 15 May, the semi-final on 18 May and the final on 23 and 27 May 2018.

| Quarter-final | Quarter-final | Quarter-final | Semi-final | Semi-final | Semi-final | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | | | 3 | Ajaccio (p) | 2 (5) | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Le Havre | 2 (3) | | | | | |
| 4 | Le Havre | 2 | 4 | Le Havre | 2 (3) | | | | | |
| 5 | Brest | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Brest | 0 | | | | 3 | Ajaccio | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | | | | | 18 | Toulouse | 3 | 1 | 4 |

### Semi-final

**Notes**

* ^ The date and time of the match was postponed from 18 May after fans of Ajaccio did not let Le Havre's bus reach the stadium.

## Relegation play-offs

A relegation play-off was held at the end of the season between the 18th-placed Ligue 2 team and the 3rd-placed team of 2017–18 Championnat National. This was played over two legs on 22 and 27 May 2018.

Grenoble are promoted to 2018–19 Ligue 2

## Top scorers

    As of 11 May 2018

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Umut Bozok | Nîmes | 24 |
| 2 | Rachid Alioui | Nîmes | 17 |
| 2 | Theoson Siebatcheu | Reims | 17 |
| 2 | Jean-Philippe Mateta | Le Havre | 17 |
| 5 | Dona Ndoh | Niort | 15 |
| 6 | Ludovic Ajorque | Clermont | 14 |
| 6 | Pablo Chavarría | Reims | 14 |
| 8 | Ghislain Gimbert | Ajaccio | 13 |
| 8 | Riad Nouri | Ajaccio | 13 |
| 10 | Florian Martin | Sochaux | 12 |
| 10 | Yoane Wissa | Ajaccio/Lorient | 12 |
| 10 | Yannick Gomis | Orléans | 12 |
| 10 | Malik Tchokounté | Paris | 12 |

## Number of teams by regions

| Teams | Region | Team(s) |
| - | - | - |
| 3 | Centre-Val de Loire | Châteauroux, Orléans, and Tours |
| 2 | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | Clermont and Bourg-Péronnas |
| 2 | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | Auxerre and Sochaux |
| 2 | Brittany | Brest and Lorient |
| 2 | Corsica | Ajaccio and Gazélec Ajaccio |
| 2 | Grand Est | Nancy and Reims |
| 2 | Hauts-de-France | Lens and Valenciennes |
| 2 | Normandy | Le Havre and Quevilly-Rouen |
| 1 | Île-de-France | Paris FC |
| 1 | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | Niort |
| 1 | Occitanie | Nîmes |
