Troyes havre secured their return to Ligue 1 on Saturday evening, dispatching AS Saint-Étienne 3-0 at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard to mathematically confirm promotion back to the French top tier with a seven-point lead. The club from the Champagne region were relegated during the 2022-2023, and endured another disastrous campaign in 2023-2024 which would normally have seen the club relegated to the third division. Yet, owing to financial troubles at AC Ajaccio, Troyes were maintained in the division and finished 12th last season. This season Stéphane Dumont has spearheaded the side’s push at the top of the Ligue 2 table, with the revelation of Tawfik Bentayeb and investment from the City Group in players such as Merwan Ifnaoui. Les Troyans emerged as clear favourites along with Saint-Étienne, and convincingly beat Les Verts away from home to regain their status as a Ligue 1 club.GFFN | George Boxall
