Lacazette scores for struggling Lyon in 1-0 win over Marseille. Nice stays second
PARIS (AP) — Lyon secured a valuable win in its relegation fight when it beat Marseille 1-0 at home on Sunday in a contest between two storied sides sharing 17 French league titles.
Neither is close to challenging Paris Saint-Germain these days, and neither has clinched the title since Marseille in 2010.
Veteran forward Alexandre Lacazette's first-half goal was enough to push seven-time champion Lyon up to 15th place in the 18-team league. Inconsistent Marseille is in eighth.
There were no visiting Marseille fans allowed for security reasons after Lyon’s team bus was pelted with objects in the corresponding fixture.
Ten-time champion Marseille went close in the first minute when midfielder Amine Harit hit the crossbar, but Lyon struck in the 37th when Lacazette turned in a cross from Ghana winger Ernest Nuamah.
The two combined again moments later but this time Lacazette hit the post and saw his follow-up shot saved by goalkeeper Pau López. Marseille hit the crossbar again near the end when midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles cleared striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s shot off the line.
Earlier, second-place Nice again showed why it has the best defense in the league, drawing 0-0 at Brest to stay three points clear of its rival.
Nice has conceded only 11 goals in 20 league games and looked comfortable against third-place Brest in a game of few chances. Nice is eight points behind league leader PSG.
Surprise front-runner Brest has never finished higher than eighth in its history, but is on course to qualify for the lucrative Champions League. Coach Eric Roy's side drew 2-2 at PSG last Sunday and shows no signs of dropping off the pace.
The game was held up for two minutes in the first half after some of Brest's fans protested a partial stadium closure by letting off some fireworks outside the stadium.
In a lunchtime start, Monaco was held 1-1 at home by promoted Le Havre.
Prolific striker Wissam Ben Yedder put Monaco ahead in the 63rd at Stade Louis II after swapping passes with winger Maghnes Akliouche, but Le Havre equalized two minutes later through midfielder Youssouf Fofana's own-goal.
Monaco's draw allowed Lille to move into fourth place on goal difference after it beat struggling Clermont 4-0 at home, with Canada striker Jonathan David scoring twice to take his season's tally to 13 goals in 27 games overall.
OTHER MATCHES
Dutch striker Thijs Dallinga was on target as Toulouse won 3-2 at Reims to move closer to midtable, while Lorient won 2-1 at Metz to move off the bottom and send Clermont there instead.
Around 40 Metz “Ultra” fans clashed briefly with riot police outside the stadium moments after the game, with police using tear gas to push them back.
France star Kylian Mbappé scored his 20th league goal of the season in PSG’s scrappy 2-1 win at Strasbourg on Friday. On Saturday he was again linked with a move to Real Madrid next season, but neither PSG or Madrid commented on reports saying he has decided to move.
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