AS Monaco regained the initiative in their battle with Olympique Lyonnais for an automatic pass to the UEFA Champions League next season with a 2-1 defeat of crisis club Olympique de Marseille in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Goals in the second half from Bernardo Silva and Andrea Raggi moved Monaco back into second place on 58 points, two clear of Lyon, with four games remaining.
“It’s an important victory. After this, each match will be a final,” Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim said.
Photo: AFP
Marseille, who got a consolation stoppage-time goal from Michy Batshuayi, were left languishing fifth from bottom, six points off the relegation zone, at the end of a week when owner Margarita Louis-Dreyfus put the ailing French giants up for sale.
“There’s a sense of sadness, of abandonment, which led to this result,” Marseille manager Michel said. “All that we’ve worked toward this week wasn’t reflected out on the pitch. The players are worried, they are concerned and anxious.”
In the other matches on Sunday, Montpellier Herault won 2-0 at Nantes and En Avant de Guingamp stunned hosts Stade Rennais 3-0.
On Friday, Alexandre Lacazette grabbed a late equalizer as 10-man Lyon salvaged a 1-1 draw against fourth-placed OGC Nice.
A day later, Paris Saint-Germain ripped Stade Malherbe Caen to pieces in a 6-0 thrashing in Paris.
The result came quick on the heels of PSG’s disappointing 3-2 aggregate Champions League quarter-final defeat to Manchester City.
“This win doesn’t cancel out anything, it doesn’t allow us to progress to the Champions League semis,” coach Laurent Blanc said.
They must now turn their attentions to their Coupe de France semi-final with Lorient today and the Coupe de la Ligue final against resurgent Lille OSC on Saturday.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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