Georges-Kevin Nkoudou on Sunday scored against his former club as Olympique de Marseille won 1-0 at Nantes 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 Louis-Fonteneau 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 l’OM and one that bumped them up to 12th in the table, while Nantes remained 10th after their three-game winning streak was brought to an end.
Photo: AFP
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.
However, after Remy Cabella helped win the ball back deep in Nantes territory early in the second half, Nkoudou advanced toward 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 equalizer on 83 minutes, but Abdelaziz Barrada was perfectly positioned to clear Oswaldo Vizcarrondo’s goal-bound header off the line and help Marseille hold on for just a fourth win in 12 matches.
Earlier, AS Monaco dealt surprise high-fliers Angers SCO 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 Olympique Lyonnais, who are above Angers and AS 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,” Jardim added.
Meanwhile, OGC Nice were held in check by Lille OSC in a 0-0 draw at the Allianz Riviera.
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