Monaco beat Marseille, Nice edge past Lens

PARIS: Improving Monaco beat Marseille 3-1 in the French league on Saturday for a fith win in six games, while the struggling visitors slipped to a fourth straight defeat despite taking an early lead.

Ater defender Guillermo Maripan equalized for Monaco, midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni headed in the second goal and forward Stevan Jovetic thumped in a superb angled free kick in the last minute to complete what ended up as a comfortable win.

Fourth-place Monaco moved one point behind third-place Lyon.

Arkadiusz Milik started on the bench for Marseille ater joining on loan from Italian club Napoli.

The Poland striker, who signed an 18-month deal late Thursday night, scored 48 goals in four seasons for Napoli but had not featured for the Italian club during this campaign.

Marseille took a deserved lead in the 11th minute when winger Nemanja Radonjic chased a long ball out of defense, sprinted clear down the let flank and finished confidently from close range.

For much of the first half Marseille looked the beter side, but familiar frailties resurfaced.

Maripan headed in the equalizer from a corner just ater the break, with Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda rooted to the spot as the ball sailed into the top corner.

Milik replaced the ineffective Dario Benedeto on the hour mark, and Marseille coach Andre Villas-boas brought on playmaker Dimitri Payet and forward Valere Germain shortly ater.

But Villas-boas may have been beter off securing things at the back.

Terrible defending cost Marseille again, this time as Tchouameni was completely unmarked when heading Aleksandr Golovin’s corner from the let past the stranded Mandanda in the 74th.

Youcef Atal paid the price for scoring for Nice in a 1-0 win at Lens, limping off injured with a hamstring injury moments ater his goal.

An early brace from South Korea striker Hwang Ui-jo powered Bordeaux to a 2-1 home win over Angers in Ligue 1 on Sunday.