Another dominant display from Lyon
Lyon had little trouble in dispatching of Troyes, as they recorded a 3-0 victory. Bertrand Traore scored with a deft touch which diverted Houssem Aouar’s goal-bound effort past goalkeeper Erwin Zelazny.
The forward added his second of the match and his 19th of the season when he headed in a cross from Ferland Mendy. Substitute Maxwel Cornet finished from an acute angle for Lyon’s third with just two minutes left.
Bruno Genesio’s men have now won seven in a row which is their best run of the season. Troyes have picked up just four points from a possible 30 and are now second from bottom.
Payet getting back to his best at crunch time in the season
Marseille came from behind to give them an important 2-1 win, as they made it clear that they aren’t just putting all their eggs in the Europa League basket. Mario Balotelli gave Nice the early advantage when he rode the challenges of three players when he cut across the penalty area before unleashing a quality finish.
Marseille began to create chances and didn’t look to be showing any signs of fatigue following their extra-time against Salzburg on Thursday. Dimitri Payet showed some skill and then his low cross was a simple tap-in for Valere Germain.
Both sides had their opportunities in a high-octane encounter. However, it was Marseille that grabbed the victory when Clinton N’Jie’s pace caused the Nice defenders problems and Payet was on-hand to walk the ball into the net.
Is Sylla the new Mbappe?
Monaco were without several first team players for the trip to Caen and with Radamel Falcao, Keita Balde and Stevan Jovetic amongst those missing it left them short up-front. Leonardo Jardim opted to give 18-year-old Moussa Sylla his first league start and his faith was rewarded.
The youngster scored on his debut when he quickly adjusted his feet following a rebound off the post. Ivan Santini drew the teams level just five minutes before the break.
Romain Genevois was sent-off for Caen and then Sylla gave Monaco the valuable three points when he netted in stoppage time. The striker only signed a professional contract last year and looks to be the next star from the infamous Monaco academy.
Konate denies PSG
Papa Moussa Konate equalised twice for Amiens as they held Paris Saint-Germain to a 2-2 draw. The Senegalese attacker has 12 league goals since making the move from Swiss side FC Sion last summer.
Edinson Cavani opened the scoring and then Christopher Nkunku’s curling effort restored PSG’s lead just after the hour mark, but Konate pegged the Champions back twice. Amiens have now secured their place in Ligue One for next term.
“This was a great evening and it has been a great season!” admitted Christophe Pelissier. “My staff and I are proud to have put together a team from this group of players.
“We are almost disappointed that it is ending in two weeks,” added the Amiens boss. “Tonight, the team did good things 90 percent of the time,” said Unai Emery, whose side play third tier club Les Herbiers in the Coupe de France on Tuesday evening.
Lille climb out of bottom three
Lille won for the second consecutive match when they defeated Toulouse 3-2. It was their ninth Ligue One win of the campaign and the third time they have won back-to-back matches in the league.
Nicolas Pepe put them ahead, but Corentin Jean made it 1-1 inside 10 minutes. Christopher Jullien gave Toulouse the advantage just before half-time and that looked to have been the decider.
However, two goals in three minutes in the final 10 from Yves Bissouma and Pepe again took Lille out of the relegation zone. Toulouse are now in the relegation play-off place with just one win in their last 12.
Honourable mentions
Bordeaux came from behind to beat Saint-Etienne 3-1. Remy Cabella gave the home side the lead, but two goals in six minutes from Younousse Sankhare and Jules Kounde put Gus Poyet’s team in-front. Malcom made it three in the fourth minute of stoppage time to ensure that Bordeaux have now won four out of their last five games.
