PARIS (AP) — Marseille’s inconsistent home form could derail the club's European ambitions as it lost 1-0 to Monaco to slip to third place in the French league on Sunday.
Both teams started the 27th round's final game very cautiously. Marseille right back Valentin Rongier had the only decent chance of the first half with a low strike that goalkeeper Alexander Nubel palmed away in the 22nd minute.
Monaco played with more purpose after halftime and opened the scoring in the 58th when Portuguese winger Gelson Martins slotted home a rebound after Kevin Volland hit the post.
Marseille has won more points on the road than at Stade Velodrome this season and trails second-place Nice by two points.
The top two French clubs qualify for the group stage of the Champions League while the third-place team only enters the third qualifying round of the lucrative European competition.
Monaco climbed to eighth place, five points outside the top four and a Europa League spot.
Fourth-place Rennes beat Angers 2-0 to earn a third straight victory and move within a point of Marseille. Benjamin Bourigeaud opened the scoring with a bouncing volley into the far corner in the 33rd. Gaetan Laborde doubled the lead from close range in the 87th. This was Laborde’s 14th league goal this season, trailing top scorer Wissam Ben Yedder by one. Angers had a sixth straight defeat to remain in 14th place.
Strasbourg lost ground in the race for European spots by conceding a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw with Reims. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde put Strasbourg ahead with a half-volley from the edge of the box in the 69th. But Reims substitute Jens Cajuste leveled in the 84th by diverting in a free kick with his knee. Strasbourg stayed in fifth place, two points behind Rennes.
Nantes sank Montpellier 2-0 to move into sixth place. Randal Kolo Muani notched his 10th league goal this season by heading home a volleyed pass from Ludovic Blas in the 69th. Nantes substitute Willem Geubbels put the result beyond doubt with a tap-in during stoppage time.
Defending champion Lille continued its late push for a European spot by routing 10-man Clermont 4-0 to stay level on points with Nantes. Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches made two assists while Canada striker Jonathan David snapped an eight-game goalless drought in all competitions by firing home an angled strike in the 71st for his 13th league goal of the season.
Denis Bouanga helped Saint-Etienne move out of the relegation zone by scoring with an acrobatic volley in the 52nd in a 1-0 win over Metz. Saint-Etienne climbed to 17th place, one point above the relegation zone.
“Our state of mind is irreproachable,” Bouanga told Amazon Prime video. “Now we know how to win games. We also know how to protect a lead. Unfortunately, there are still a few details to fix. We are a real team. We will continue that way.”
Saint-Etienne’s form has improved under new manager Pascal Dupraz, racking up 13 points from the last six games. Dupraz replaced Claude Puel as Saint-Etienne coach in December in a bid to avoid relegation. Saint-Etienne was in last place before Dupraz’s appointment.
Saint-Etienne, Troyes and Metz were level on points with bottom side Bordeaux before kickoff.
Troyes downed Bordeaux 2-0 to snap a five-game winless streak and move into 16th place. Bordeaux lived up to its reputation as the worst defense in the league by conceding two penalties. The hosts were booed off the pitch after the final whistle.
On Saturday, Nice upset runaway leader Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to move into second place while Brest edged Lens 1-0 to earn its first away win since December and inch closer to safety.
On Friday, Lyon won at Lorient 4-1.
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
