Tchouameni helps Monaco edge Lille for eighth straight victory
PARIS: Monaco chalked up an eighth consecutive victory to go provisionally second in Ligue 1 ater Aurelien Tchouameni’s double strike earned them a 2-1 win at Lille on Friday.
Midfielder Tchouameni scored either side of the interval to put the principality side on 65 points from 36 matches and they lead third-place Olympique de Marseille, who play their game in hand at Lorient on Sunday, on goal difference.
The top two teams will qualify directly for the Champions League group stage while the third-placed side will play in the third qualifying.
Lille, who won the Ligue 1 title last year, equalised through Angel Gomes before Monaco completed a deserved victory.
Lille are in 10th place on 51 points. They had a huge task ahead of them against in-form Monaco as they had to cope with the absence of strikers Burak Yilmaz and Renato Sanches, both suspended ater being sent off last weekend.
The local fans highlighted the frustration they felt with their side by holding up a banner across a stand at the Pierre Mauroy stadium which declared ‘you’re on holidays, so are we’.
In a rather dull first half, Monaco found the back of the net three minutes before the break when Wissam Ben Yedder set up Tchouameni for his France team mate to beat Leo Jardim with a low shot from just outside the area.
Lille levelled in the 69th minute through Gomes, who neted with a fine curled shot, but the hosts’ joy as short-lived.
Six minutes later, Tchouameni stunned Jardim with a powerful 25-metre shot that bounced off the post and into the net.
INJURED PAYET TO MISS MARSEILLE’S LAST THREE LEAGUE GAMES: Dimitri Payet will miss the remaining three games of the French league season for Champions League-chasing Marseille ater tearing a calf muscle.
The 35-year-old playmaker limped off during the first half of the Europa Conference League semifinal return leg against Dutch side Feyenoord, which was marred by heavy fan clashes outside the stadium Thursday night.
Marseille said on Saturday that Payet won’t fully recover before the end of the season.
“The hardest thing for me now is not being able to help my teammates on the final stretch,” Payet wrote Saturday on Twiter. “Of course I’ll be right behind them and the whole staff.”
It is a blow for Marseille, which is under pressure to finish in second place to secure automatic entry into next season’s Champions League.
Monaco’s eighth straight win on Friday night moved it above Marseille and into second on goal difference behind champion Paris Saint-germain, although Marseille can restore the three-point gap with a victory at Lorient on Sunday.
Payet enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career and was on course to beat his career record for most goals in a season - 13 for Saintetienne in 2010-11. With his ability to play as a false nine, or ghost into position as a deep-lying playmaker, Payet is a crucial component in coach Jorge Sampaoli’s 4-3-3 system.
Despite his advancing years he scored 12 goals - his best in a season for Marseille - and had nine assists.