Monaco beat slumping Marseille 3-0 on Saturday to take second place in Ligue 1 from their opponents and boost their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. The principality club lead Marseille by one point with five matches remaining, but seventh-placed Lyon are only four points further adrift with a game in hand. Lille are fourth, two points behind Marseille and above Strasbourg on goal difference. Monaco inflicted a fourth defeat in five Ligue 1 games on Roberto De Zerbi’s Marseille, who are in danger of throwing away a Champions League place after sitting second in the French top flight for much of the campaign.
“We have to remain cautious because the gap is only one point,” said Monaco coach Adi Huetter. “It will be very close with our opponents.”
The teams who finish second and third behind champions Paris Saint-Germain will secure spots directly into the Champions League, with the fourth-placed side heading into the qualifying rounds.
“We’re still alive, we still have a great chance of reaching the Champions League,” said Marseille coach De Zerbi.
“I have nothing to say to the players; we must remain united. I’m optimistic. I’m more optimistic tonight than after some defeats and even some victories.”
Monaco took the lead in the 34th minute at the Stade Louis II when Takumi Minamino swept home his fifth league goal of the season following some dreadful Marseille defending.
OM came close to an equaliser shortly before half-time, but Luis Henrique’s effort was well saved by Monaco goalkeeper Philipp Kohn.
The hosts doubled their advantage shortly before the hour as Breel Embolo slipped the ball past Geronimo Rulli after an excellent pass through from Vanderson.
The goal was awarded following a lengthy VAR review for offside.
Monaco added further gloss to the scoreline and bolstered their goal difference, which could prove crucial, through Denis Zakaria’s late penalty.
“In the first half, we played very well, even if we didn’t have any great chances apart from Luis Henrique’s,” added De Zerbi.
“But we didn’t suffer too much, and I find it difficult to explain their goal. It was a stupid goal, and that happens to us too often.”
Strasbourg held by Nice
Strasbourg’s five-match winning run in Ligue 1 came to a dramatic end as Youssouf Ndayishimiye scored with the final touch of the game to grab Nice a 2-2 draw at the Stade de la Meinau.
Left-back Melvin Bard gave Nice a 38th-minute lead as he latched onto a ball in behind from Jonathan Clauss, keeping his footing before slotting in.
Strasbourg hit back through Emmanuel Emegha’s 13th league goal of the season early in the second half, before Samuel Amo-Ameyaw completed the turnaround just three minutes later.
But Burundi international Ndayishimiye pounced in the last minute of added time to move Nice up to sixth, two points behind Strasbourg.
Lille climbed into fourth after a 2-1 victory at Toulouse.
Mitchel Bakker scored the winning goal in first-half injury time, after Toulouse centre-back Charlie Cresswell had cancelled out Mathias Fernandez-Pardo’s opener.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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