France international striker Alexandre Lacazette hit a hat-trick as Olympique Lyonnais sealed a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League by thrashing 10-man AS Monaco 6-1 at Parc Olympique Lyonnais on Saturday.
Second-placed Lyon went into the game ahead of Monaco in the Ligue 1 table on goal-difference and they pulled quickly clear with goals from Rachid Ghezzal and Lacazette inside the first eight minutes.
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa headed in a third after visiting striker Lacina Traore was sent off and then Lacazette dinked in before Ricardo Carvalho pulled a goal back before halftime.
Photo: Reuters
Centerback Yanga-Mbiwa piled yet more misery onto Monaco just ahead of the the hour mark before Lacazette completed his hat-trick.
Lyon are all but assured of a place in the Champions League group stages and of being runners-up behind Paris Saint-Germain for the second straight season, thanks to their far superior goal-difference with just a game to go.
The principality side will be looking nervously over their shoulders as they look to hang onto the third and final spot in Europe’s premier competition after OGC Nice beat the nine men of AS Saint-Etienne 2-0 to close the gap on the top three to just two points ahead of the final day of the season.
Since ending PSG’s record unbeaten run in February, Lyon have not lost themselves, with Saturday’s victory their eighth in 10 outings.
“It was like a dream. It goes beyond what we expected,” Lyon coach Bruno Genesio said. “I feel proud to have achieved a goal [Champions League qualification] that did not look easy in January. We had a great start to the match and it freed us up for the rest of the game.”
Saint-Etienne’s Champions League hopes are now over after Kevin Malcuit and Franck Tabanou were both sent off at Nice.
Claude Puel’s men left it late, but finally made the most of their two-man advantage thanks to Valere Germain goals in the 86th and 89th minutes.
Nice visit En Avant de Guingamp next Saturday, while Monaco host Montpellier Herault.
Elsewhere on Saturday, PSG set a new Ligue 1 points record of 92 by cruising past struggling Gazelec Ajaccio 4-0 in Corsica.
Edinson Cavani scored a hat-trick before Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s stoppage-time strike as Gazelec slipped into the relegation zone.
Toulouse clambered out of the bottom three at their expense after a tense 1-0 win over already-relegated ESTAC Troyes.
Argentine Oscar Trejo was the star for Pascal Dupraz’s men, scoring the only goal in the second half just seconds after coming off the bench.
Two of Gazelec, Toulouse and Stade de Reims will go down next weekend after the latter were beaten 1-0 at Olympique de Marseille.
Michy Batshuayi gave l’OM their first home league win since September last year, leaving Reims a point behind their two rivals in the fight to avoid the drop.
Also on Saturday, Girondins de Bordeaux defeated Lorient 3-0, Stade Malherbe Caen won 2-1 at Nantes, Lille OSC were held goalless by Guingamp, Montpellier beat Stade Rennais 2-0 and SC Bastia edged Angers SCO 1-0.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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