Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned Ligue 1 champions for the 11th time in their history thanks to a 1-1 draw away at Strasbourg.
With a six-point lead to boast over Lens heading into the penultimate matchday, the capital giants needed just a point on Saturday night to officially retain their title with a game to spare.
A depleted PSG would draw first blood in the second half through Lionel Messi, and even though former Parisiens striker Kevin Gameiro came up with an equaliser that the hosts arguably deserved, that stalemate was enough for the champions to finish at the summit once again.
Hit by a wave of fresh absences ahead of their sojourn to the Stade de la Meinau - missing all of Marquinhos, Hugo Ekitike, Fabian Ruiz and the suspended Achraf Hakimi alongside their known injury victims in Neymar, Presnel Kimpembe, Nuno Mendes and Nordi Mukiele - PSG were far from their free-flowing best in the early minutes.
With a quarter of the game gone, Strasbourg's focal point Habib Diallo skipped past Danilo Pereira and let fly from the left-hand side of the box, but Gianluigi Donnarumma was on hand to tip his drive over the bar.
Both goalkeepers won out in the first half-hour, as Renato Sanches was allowed ample time and space to direct a volley towards goal from a corner, but Matz Sels showed exemplary reactions to palm the ball away.
Seeking to make amends for his earlier missed opportunity, Diallo was proving a menace for PSG to deal with and had another go from 25 yards seven minutes before the break, and the Senegal international's rocket crashed the post as PSG survived another scare.
Mbappe and Messi combine once again 🤝
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 27, 2023
A massive goal for the Argentine which could settle the title for PSG ✨ pic.twitter.com/TkWyXENknR
There was little for Christophe Galtier's men to write home about at half time, but just 14 minutes into the second half, the champions' deadly double act combined for a priceless opener.
Taking down a long ball over the top from Danilo with aplomb, Mbappe waited for Messi to make his run into the box before prodding the ball through to the Argentine, who fired across goal and into the far corner to belatedly break the deadlock, notching a record 496th goal in European's big five leagues.
However, PSG's failure to add to their advantage soon proved costly, and it was one of their former stars who plunged their hopes of early title glory into doubt with 79 minutes gone.
Coming off the bench to good effect, Gameiro set up Morgan Sanson to sting the palms of Donnarumma, who could only parry the ball back into the danger area, where the 36-year-old reacted quickest.
With Donnarumma on the ground, Gameiro delicately chipped the ball over the Italian and watched his effort trickle over the line; Danilo swiped at thin air when trying to clear the first time and only succeeded in hooking the ball away when the home crowd had already begun celebrating.
Gameiro did not hesitate to revel in his strike either, and both sides were more than happy to shake hands on a draw, one which also confirmed Strasbourg's safety as well as PSG's first-placed finish.
The champions - whose celebrations were relatively muted at full time - finish their topsy-turvy season at home to Clermont next weekend, which could be Messi and the under-fire Galtier's final appearances in front of the Parc des Princes faithful ahead of expected summer departures.
Ben Knapton
