As the Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco squads are put through their paces in the heat of Doha for the final of the Trophée des Champions, some 6,000km away in the comparative chill of the French Riviera, Nice and Rennes kicked off the second half of the Ligue 1 season on Friday night.
When France's top flight paused on 18 December, Nice lay in sixth spot with 24 points from 15 games. Rennes were further down the food chain in 12th with 17 points – four points from the relegation places to Ligue 2.
Nice's 3-2 victory at the Allianz Riviera took them up to fourth to keep Franck Haise's men in the mix for one of the spots in next season's European competitions.
"The break has been good for everyone," said Haise on the eve of the game.
Three Ligue 1 games take place on Saturday and four more on Sunday, including second-placed Marseille's match against second from bottom Le Havre.
Marseille will be expected to beat a team who lost five of their seven matches on the road before the Christmas break.
Should they take all three points they will move to within seven of Ligue 1 pacesetters PSG, who beat Monaco 4-2 in Ligue 1 just before Christmas.
Just over a fortnight on from the match at the Stade Louis II in Monaco, the teams meet again at the 974 Stadium in Doha for a game that traditionally pits the Ligue 1 champions against the winners of the Coupe de France.
Since PSG won both trophies last season, Monaco – who came second in Ligue 1 – will play for a title known as the Super Cup in several other leading European leagues.
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Last January, Kang-in Lee and Kylian Mbappé scored in the 2-0 win over Toulouse at the Parc des Princes to furnish PSG with the 2024 Trophée des Champions – a record 12th success in a competition played in various guises since 1949.
It was also the first trophy for Luis Enrique, who took over at PSG in July 2023. Adding Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France gave the Spaniard a domestic clean sweep.
A fourth success would come at the start of a month in which PSG will play seven matches in Ligue 1, the Champions League and the Coupe de France.
"We've obviously been looking at the last game against Monaco," Enrique told PSG TV. "It is marvellous that we will play so many games. The more matches the better. That means we are alive in many competitions."
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PSG resume their Ligue 1 campaign on 12 January with a home game against Saint Etienne. A Coupe de France tie against fifth-tier Espaly follows three days later, before another Ligue 1 match at Lens.
This will be followed by a clash in the group stages of the Champions League against Manchester City.
Lying 25th in the 36-team league, PSG need a victory to secure a place among the 16 teams who will feature in a two match play-off for the eight of the berths in the last 16.
City, who won the trophy in 2023, are also scrabbling for one of those play-off places.
"Now everything is coming together," added Enrique. "I'm looking forward to the next month."
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