PSG dominate French football and, as a result, Ligue 1 is uncompetitive. At least, that’s the narrative driven by social media. It’s true that PSG have won seven of the last nine titles and, although they are not reigning champions, they have no real contenders this season. However, Ligue 1 is a league like no other. Its weakest teams are its strongest asset, as we are seeing again this season.

There is an obvious resource gap between the top and bottom clubs – PSG’s budget of €500m for this season dwarfs the €20m newly promoted Clermont can spend – yet Ligue 1’s supposed lack of competition can be partly explained by competitiveness further down the division. Of the 20-team major European top flights last season, the gap between the bottom three and the top four was narrowest in France at 36 points. That competitiveness across the league, which saw relegation-threatened Metz beat Champions League favourites Nice this weekend, often allows PSG to get away at the top. PSG can push ahead as the clubs below them take points off each other.

Sixteen games into the season, just 11 points separate Strasbourg in sixth and bottom club Saint-Étienne. The two sides who failed to win any of their first 11 fixtures this season, Brest and Saint-Étienne, were in the top five earlier this week. As it stands, it would not be a surprise to see anyone from the bottom half of the table, bar champions Lille who sit 12th (but top of their Champions League group), finish in the bottom three.

Despite just one loss in five games – to PSG – St Étienne are still bottom but boast two of the league’s standout players so far. England Under-21 goalkeeper Etienne Green again displayed his lightning-quick reactions in making a handful of world-class saves against PSG at the weekend, and forward Wahbi Khazri ended France’s goal of the season competition last month by scoring from 70 yards at Metz. Claude Puel, reportedly barely surviving the sack of late, owes his continued employment to an explosive late comeback to beat Clermont 3-2.