Anyone notice...Ligue 1 is competitive!!!

I must admit, I had Olympique Lyonnaise sized up for their 8th straight league title prior to the season starting. But after 17 matches Lyon has a slim 3 point lead over Marseilles and is only 5 points ahead of the 5th place team - PSG. Unlike prior seasons, the Ligue 1 title might play itself out until late into the season. To what do we owe this competitiveness? A few things.

• Lyon has dropped with regards to their depth and talent. It would be impossible for a team to sustain such a high level when they have regularly lost some top players. Lyon were not just losing high performing players for Ligue 1 but players that are world class - Diarra, Essein, Malouda, Coupet, and Malouda to name a few. While they have done a good job adding the top talent in the French league, they have not added the world class level they have seen leaving. In addition, Lyon is not getting younger. Players such as Juninho are starting to show their age. There remains a tremendous amount of young talent - Lloris, Benzema, Pjanic, and Mounier to name a few. But these players are young and still have a ways to go (the latter two more than the former two). However it is very difficult to do what Lyon has already achieved, the fact they remain on top of the table is nothing to sneeze at, but compared to their prior seasons it gives pause that they might be caught!
• The challengers - teams such as Marseilles, Rennes, and Bordeaux have done some interesting things to contend, namely adding some important talent. Bordeaux went out and got Gourcuff from Milan and Marseilles added, from OL, Ben Arfa. However the club that is most surprising, pleasantly for me, is PSG. They went out and got some veterans - Guily and Makelele as well as taking chances on second division players like Hourau. It has taken some time, but PSG looks like it has found itself. They have already defeated, Marseilles, Lyon and Bordeaux this season. I also think the play of Landreau has thrusted PSG back into contention. It will be interesting to see if these clubs go out and purchase players during the winter break to really challenge OL.
• The pressure of success I think has worn on OL. Winning the league title is not the most important for Lyon. They have clearly dominated league play for the past 7 seasons...but they have always missed on the ultimate prize - Europe. I think Lyon needs to at least get to a Champions League finals, and really needs to win European silverware for this winning run to be truly categorized as "legendary." They have reached the 1/4 finals a few times, the hardest being in 2006 losing an apparent ticket to the 1/2 finals at the San Siro when they fell apart in the last 5 minutes to a battling AC Milan team. Has this pressure mounted on Lyon? And if it has, does it show in their play?

I will not pick again Lyon to win another title, but I think that the French league will be one worth watching this season, unlike the past few that have been victory laps for Lyon starting in February.