Reigning champions PSG strolled to a simple 4-0 win over Reims to pile the pressure on Lille, who will nonetheless claim the French title for the first time since 2011 if they win at mid-table Angers next Sunday. Christophe Galtier's side hit the post in the final seconds of a frustrating match with little in the way of goalmouth incident.
St Etienne were the better team in the first half and Denis Bouanga forced a good save out of goalkeeper Mike Maignan in the ninth minute of the contest. Just a few minutes later, Benjamin Andre very nearly turned a Mathieu Debuchy cross into his own goal and then the game calmed down. Lille struggled to threaten going forward with the exception of a lovely counter involving Luiz Araujo and Burak Yilmaz which saw the former hit narrowly wide of the goal. That opportunity in the 36th minute was their best chance by a distance.
The second half remained devoid of clear cut chances, but the away side were not as dangerous going forward. In fact, Lille came closer in the second 45. Soumare tested the keeper on the hour mark and then subsitute Renato Sanches hit wide of the target with 13 minutes remaining.
St Etienne were reduced to 10 men in the 84th minute when Abi had to go off with a muscle problem just 22 minutes after coming on. St Etienne had used all of their subs and that gave Lille a lift. They very nearly won it at the death when Yusuf Yazici's free-kick was turned onto the post by goalkeeper Etienne Green and Yilmaz's rebound was cleared off the line. However, Lille had to settle for a draw which was a very fair result.
PSG meanwhile were gifted a perfect start when Yunis Abdelhamid handled Kylian Mbappe's shot in front of an empty goal, conceding a penalty and being sent off in the process. Neymar slotted home the spot-kick in the 13th minute and 11 minutes later Mbappe pounced on a wayward pass across the area by Thomas Foket to tap home the second.
Marquinhos made it three in the 68th minute with a thumping header from Neymar's corner. Moise Kean rounded off an easy win for PSG one minute from the end.
Monaco are also still in with a potential shout after their 2-1 home win over Rennes moved Niko Kovac's third-placed side three points behind Lille with one to play.
However the Principality club have an significantly inferior goal difference to both Lille and PSG and would therefore need to win at Lens on the final day and hope both their rivals lose their final fixtures. They are also looking over their shoulders at Lyon, who are a point further back in fourth following their flamboyant 5-2 win at Nimes, who were relegated following the defeat and wins for both Lorient and Nantes.