Patrice Evra Monaco climatically conceded first place to Lyon in May, which resulted in Lyon being declared champions for the second time in its history. Monaco finished the campaign in second place, which merited the club an appearance in the UEFA Champions League. The club was also rewarded domestically for its performance in the Coupe de la Ligue where it reached the final. Evra featured in the team's 4–1 win over Sochaux in the match. The league cup title gave Evra the first major honour of his career. After the season, Márquez and Jurietti departed Monaco for Spanish club Barcelona and Bordeaux
Patrice Evra groundsman during a warm-down following a match on 26 April. The defender denied the charges and was supported by several members of the club's staff, who commented that the player was racially abused by the groundsman prior to the confrontation. Evra remained free to play for United up to the date of the hearing despite the charges being made in July 2008. He began the campaign in similar fashion to last season as Manchester United won the Community Shield following the team's 3–0 victory over Portsmouth on penalties. Evra was ever-present in Manchester United's first 22 competitive matches of the