Souleymane Camara scored in the second half to give Montpellier Herault a 1-0 win over OGC Nice on Sunday and help his team retain the lead in Ligue 1.
The Senegal striker took a pass from Garry Bocaly and spun to fire home a curling shot in the 75th minute, making sure Montpellier kept their one-point lead over Olympique Lyonnais atop the standings.
Nice nearly leveled five minutes later when Abraham Guie Guie’s header bounced off the bar. Serbian defender Nemanja Pejcinovic pounced on the rebound, only to hit the bar again.
“It took some time to score, despite our domination,” Montpellier coach Rene Girard said. “We got the job done. It wasn’t easy, but there are times when you have to put on overalls. Being in first place is nice, but it’s not the most important thing.”
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain beat Stade Brestois 29 1-0, but slipped to fourth place, two points off the pace. AS Nancy-Lorraine drew 0-0 with mid-table AJ Auxerre to remain in the relegation zone.
“There’s a lot of satisfaction,” PSG coach Antoine Kombouare said. “It’s the first time that we win three straight matches. It’s also the first time that we don’t concede any goal ... This victory is important because we take three points and victories generate confidence.”
PSG winger Jeremy Menez charged down the left flank in the 68th minute to find Javier Pastore inside the area. The Argentine playmaker cut inside Santiago Gentiletti with his first touch, before shooting high past Brest goalkeeper Steeve Elana for the winning goal.
However, it was Brest who dominated the first half.
Brest winger Romain Poyet cracked a low drive that PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu turned around the post in the 20th minute. Striker Nolan Roux then rounded the PSG defense in the 36th minute to feed Eden Ben Basat, who missed the target from close-range.
“We had chances in the first half to score, but unfortunately we didn’t convert them. We were not efficient up front tonight,” Roux said.
Pastore shone in midfield with his good control and sharp turns. The PSG midfielder picked his spot from 22m to unleash a low shot that Elana stopped in the 23rd minute. He then skipped past two defenders in a tiny space to reach the byline and cut the ball back for Mathieu Bodmer, who blasted over the bar in the 39th minute. Brazilian midfielder Nene crossed for Pastore in the 57th minute, but he could not put enough power on his header.
Uruguay captain Diego Lugano made his debut for PSG and earned his first yellow card after tripping Roux in the 64th minute.
“I thought Diego Lugano was very good tonight,” Kombouare said. “He won almost all his one-on-one duels. He brought a lot of serenity. That bodes well for the future.”
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