PSG stretch lead at top of Ligue 1 to 10 points
PSG's lead at the top of Ligue already looks unassailable after a win against Rennes helped stretch the gap to 10 points. The weekend also saw wins for Marseille and Lyon, who climbed to second.
Georges-Kevin Nkoudou scored against his former club as Marseille won 1-0 at Nantes on Sunday to record back-to-back Ligue 1 victories for the first time this season.
France Under-21 winger Nkoudou swapped the Stade de la Beaujoire for Marseille over the summer and came back to haunt the Brittany side with the game's only goal after 53 minutes.
It was a second successive away win for OM and one that bumped them up to 12th in the table, while Nantes stayed tenth after their three-game winning streak was brought to an end.
Marseille arrived in Nantes with just three points separating them from the relegation zone and created few chances of note in a quiet opening 45 minutes in which the hosts' Johan Audel went closest to finding a breakthrough.
But after Remy Cabella helped win the ball back deep in Nantes territory early in the second half, Nkoudou advanced towards goal before firing low past Remy Riou from just outside the area for his first league goal since March when he was still at Nantes.
The home side came desperately close to grabbing an equaliser on 83 minutes but Abdelaziz Barrada was perfectly positioned to clear Oswaldo Vizcarrondo's goalbound header off the line and help Marseille hold on for just a fourth win in 12 matches.
Earlier, Monaco dealt surprise high-fliers Angers just a second defeat of the season with a 1-0 victory over the top-flight newcomers.
Angers came into the weekend as the nearest challengers to runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain but slipped 10 points adrift as Mario Pasalic's first-half goal at the Stade Louis II snapped the visitors' six-game unbeaten run.
For Monaco it was the first time they had registered consecutive wins this campaign as Leonardo Jardim's side moved up three places to sixth, two points behind second-placed Lyon, who are above Angers and Saint-Etienne on goal difference.
"This victory is very important for us, it's our first at home this term," said Jardim, who had seen his team pick up just three points from five home matches before Sunday.
"I hope with three straight wins (in all competitions) that the team will kick on from here. Winning breeds confidence and that's very important for us."
Meanwhile, Nice were held in check by Lille in a 0-0 draw at the Allianz Riviera.
Reigning champions PSG stretched their already sizeable lead at the top with a 1-0 victory in Rennes on Friday courtesy of Angel di Maria's second-half strike.
Lyon climbed up to second on Saturday as Claudio Beauvue's late penalty steered them to an unconvincing 1-0 win over 10-man Troyes, with Saint-Etienne easing to a 3-0 win over a slumping Reims side.
French Ligue 1 table after Sunday's afternoon matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):
Paris SG 12 10 2 0 26 6 32
Lyon 12 6 4 2 16 7 22
Angers 12 6 4 2 12 7 22
Saint-Etienne 12 7 1 4 17 14 22
Caen 12 7 0 5 12 13 21
Monaco 12 5 5 2 16 15 20
Nice 11 5 3 3 25 15 18
Lorient 12 4 5 3 18 17 17
Rennes 12 4 5 3 15 14 17
Nantes 10 5 1 4 9 10 16
Guingamp 12 4 4 4 12 15 16
Reims 12 4 3 5 11 12 15
Bordeaux 12 3 5 4 14 18 14
Bastia 12 4 1 7 13 18 13
Marseille 11 3 3 5 17 13 12
Lille 12 2 6 4 6 7 12
Montpellier 12 2 3 7 9 15 9
Gazelec Ajaccio 12 2 3 7 9 16 9
Toulouse 12 1 6 5 12 21 9
Troyes 12 0 4 8 5 21 4
Comments
See Also
Georges-Kevin Nkoudou scored against his former club as Marseille won 1-0 at Nantes on Sunday to record back-to-back Ligue 1 victories for the first time this season.
France Under-21 winger Nkoudou swapped the Stade de la Beaujoire for Marseille over the summer and came back to haunt the Brittany side with the game's only goal after 53 minutes.
It was a second successive away win for OM and one that bumped them up to 12th in the table, while Nantes stayed tenth after their three-game winning streak was brought to an end.
Marseille arrived in Nantes with just three points separating them from the relegation zone and created few chances of note in a quiet opening 45 minutes in which the hosts' Johan Audel went closest to finding a breakthrough.
But after Remy Cabella helped win the ball back deep in Nantes territory early in the second half, Nkoudou advanced towards goal before firing low past Remy Riou from just outside the area for his first league goal since March when he was still at Nantes.
The home side came desperately close to grabbing an equaliser on 83 minutes but Abdelaziz Barrada was perfectly positioned to clear Oswaldo Vizcarrondo's goalbound header off the line and help Marseille hold on for just a fourth win in 12 matches.
Earlier, Monaco dealt surprise high-fliers Angers just a second defeat of the season with a 1-0 victory over the top-flight newcomers.
Angers came into the weekend as the nearest challengers to runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain but slipped 10 points adrift as Mario Pasalic's first-half goal at the Stade Louis II snapped the visitors' six-game unbeaten run.
For Monaco it was the first time they had registered consecutive wins this campaign as Leonardo Jardim's side moved up three places to sixth, two points behind second-placed Lyon, who are above Angers and Saint-Etienne on goal difference.
"This victory is very important for us, it's our first at home this term," said Jardim, who had seen his team pick up just three points from five home matches before Sunday.
"I hope with three straight wins (in all competitions) that the team will kick on from here. Winning breeds confidence and that's very important for us."
Meanwhile, Nice were held in check by Lille in a 0-0 draw at the Allianz Riviera.
Reigning champions PSG stretched their already sizeable lead at the top with a 1-0 victory in Rennes on Friday courtesy of Angel di Maria's second-half strike.
Lyon climbed up to second on Saturday as Claudio Beauvue's late penalty steered them to an unconvincing 1-0 win over 10-man Troyes, with Saint-Etienne easing to a 3-0 win over a slumping Reims side.
French Ligue 1 table after Sunday's afternoon matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):
Paris SG 12 10 2 0 26 6 32
Lyon 12 6 4 2 16 7 22
Angers 12 6 4 2 12 7 22
Saint-Etienne 12 7 1 4 17 14 22
Caen 12 7 0 5 12 13 21
Monaco 12 5 5 2 16 15 20
Nice 11 5 3 3 25 15 18
Lorient 12 4 5 3 18 17 17
Rennes 12 4 5 3 15 14 17
Nantes 10 5 1 4 9 10 16
Guingamp 12 4 4 4 12 15 16
Reims 12 4 3 5 11 12 15
Bordeaux 12 3 5 4 14 18 14
Bastia 12 4 1 7 13 18 13
Marseille 11 3 3 5 17 13 12
Lille 12 2 6 4 6 7 12
Montpellier 12 2 3 7 9 15 9
Gazelec Ajaccio 12 2 3 7 9 16 9
Toulouse 12 1 6 5 12 21 9
Troyes 12 0 4 8 5 21 4
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.