Monaco tighten grip on second spot

PARIS: Tiemoue Bakayoko scored the only goal as 10-man Monaco saw off neighbours Nice 1-0 in a bad-tempered derby to consolidate second place in Ligue 1, while Olympique Lyon boosted their topthree hopes with a 3-0 win at Angers.

Monaco move onto 45 points, 21 behind runaway leaders Paris St Germain while Nice stay third on 39 points.

Nabil Dirar was sent off in the 48th minute for a second yellow card given for arguing with the referee but Monaco took the lead when a header from substitute Bakayoko diverted Joao Moutinho’s free kick past Yoann Cardinale in the 81st minute.

January signing Vagner Love missed two close-range first-half headers and goalkeeper Danijel Subasic was the late hero when he made fine stops to deny Nice’s Dorian Caddy and Paul Baysse.

“We proved on the pitch that we deserve this second place,” said Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim.

Nice manager Claude Puel had a different view of the result.

“We are very, very unhappy,” he said. “It was a cruel defeat.”

Angers handed Monaco a rare loss last weekend but were a goal and a man down inside the first 16 minutes following Christophe Jallet’s 13th-minute opener and Thomas Mangani’s red card for an ugly foul on Corentin Tolisso.

Rachid Ghezzal and Tolisso scored in the second half as Lyon moved up to fifth on 36 points after winning consecutive league games for the first time since early November.

“We mustn’t get carried away,” Tolisso told the club’s official television station.

“We’re coming back from some distance, and we have to keep going like that.”

Caen missed the chance to climb up to fourth after losing 2-0 at home to Stade de Reims, while bottom-Troyes had two players sent off in their 2-0 defeat by Bastia, who also had goalkeeper Jean-Louis Leca dismissed. — Reuters