PARIS (AP) — Yusuf Yazici impressed again with two goals as Lille beat struggling Lorient 4-0 Sunday to go second in the French league, two points behind Paris Saint-Germain.
Turkey's attacking midfielder has caught the eye this season with back-to-back hat tricks away from home in the Europa League, and he took his tally to nine goals in nine games overall.
Fellow forward Jonathan Bamba picked him out from the left side of the penalty area in the 28th minute and he slid the ball under goalkeeper Paul Nardi. Yazici grabbed his second of the night in the 50th after a good combination between Bamba and Canada forward Jonathan David.
Brazilian winger Luiz Araujo made it 3-0 six minutes later when he was set up by the impressive Yazici, and a fine night for Lille was capped off by David's first goal for the club in the 89th from Isaac Lihadji's pass.
The defeat leaves Lorient 18th after 11 rounds of matches.
Earlier, Lyon extended its unbeaten run to eight games and moved into third place with a 1-0 win at Angers. Striker Tino Kadewere continued his good form with Lyon's goal in the 77th minute.
Right back Leo Dubois got in behind the defense down the right and pulled the ball back to Kadewere, who chested it down and finished for his fourth goal of the season.
Angers almost equalized in the last minute when a cross wrong-footed goalkeeper Anthony Lopes, but defender Sinaly Diomande cleared the ball off the line.
Fourth-place Montpellier moved level on 20 points with Lyon — and two behind Lille — after a 4-3 home win against 19th-place Strasbourg with striker Andy Delort scoring two and creating the winner.
Montpellier led 2-0 inside 13 minutes through center half Pedro Mendes and Delort.
Strasbourg hit back with penalties from defender Kenny Lala and striker Habib Diallo, before Delort's header made it 3-2 with just 30 minutes played. Ludovic Ajorque equalized again just before a thrilling first half ended.
Midway through the second half Delort's header set up strike partner Gaetan Laborde for a volley, and the lively Ajorque almost made it 4-4 near the end when his effort was saved.
In other matches, it was: Nantes 1, Metz 1; Reims 0, Nimes 1; and Dijon 0, Lens 1.
Saturday's game between Marseille and Nice was postponed after an outbreak of coronavirus cases in the Nice squad.
PSG lost 3-2 at Monaco on Friday night for a third defeat of the season, having led the match 2-0 thanks to a brace from star striker Kylian Mbappe against the club that sold him for 180 million euros ($213 million).
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