Monaco strengthened their grip on second place in Ligue 1 with a slender 1-0 win against Nice, despite playing almost half the game with 10 men.
Tiemoue Bakayoko's strike late on, his first for Monaco, was enough for Leonardo Jardim's side - who had Nabil Dirar sent off - to move six points clear of their third-placed visitors.
Monaco suffered a blow early on when Fabio Coentrao was forced off with an injury on 12 minutes but almost netted just after when Mario Pasalic escaped the visitors' defence only to be denied by a decent Yoan Cardinale save.
Nice were unlucky not to take the lead on 20 minutes when Vincent Koziello's audacious chip beat Danijel Subasic before coming back off the crossbar, before Vagner Love's wasteful finishing at the other end ensured a goalless first half.
The former CSKA Moscow forward inexplicably headed wide from three yards out - before doing exactly the same from Bernardo Silva's delivery as the half-time whistle approached.
No sooner had the second half begun and Monaco found themselves a man down when Nabil Dirar was shown two yellow cards in a matter of seconds for arguing with referee Tony Chapron.
Nice looked to take full advantage but Walter's effort from distance sailed over the bar following some good work from Valere Germain while Hatem Ben Arfa was thwarted by Subasic following a good run into the box.
Then, with less than 10 minutes left to play, Monaco struck against the run of play when Joao Moutinho's free-kick found the unmarked Bakayoko who headed beyond Cardinale.
French Ligue 1 Standings
| POS | Team | GP | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris Saint-Germain | 27 | +38 | 63 |
| 2 | Lens | 29 | +28 | 62 |
| 3 | Lille | 29 | +15 | 53 |
| 4 | Marseille | 29 | +20 | 52 |
| 5 | Lyon | 29 | +14 | 51 |
| 6 | Stade Rennais | 29 | +8 | 50 |
| 7 | AS Monaco | 29 | +7 | 49 |
| 8 | Strasbourg | 28 | +12 | 43 |
| 9 | Lorient | 29 | -6 | 38 |
| 10 | Toulouse | 30 | -1 | 37 |
| 11 | Brest | 28 | -6 | 36 |
| 12 | Paris FC | 29 | -8 | 35 |
| 13 | Angers | 29 | -14 | 33 |
| 14 | Le Havre AC | 29 | -13 | 29 |
| 15 | Nice | 29 | -22 | 28 |
| 16 | AJ Auxerre | 29 | -14 | 24 |
| 17 | Nantes | 28 | -21 | 19 |
| 18 | Metz | 29 | -37 | 15 |
Ligue 1 News
![]()
Tracking Europe's top soccer leagues: Title races, UCL, relegation
How are the battles for major honors, Champions League spots and relegation shaping up across the continent? Here's everything you need to know.
![]()
Folarin Balogun equals Neymar goal streak; Paul Pogba returns
Folarin Balogun scored for a seventh successive Ligue 1 game and Paul Pogba returned from injury but AS Monaco was blown out 4-1 by Paris FC on Friday.
![]()
Yamal, Güler, Neves lead best U21 men's soccer players
For the eighth straight year, ESPN brings you our list of the game's next young stars aged 21 or under. Who is good enough to make it?
![]()
Marseille won't 'sit back' without Mason Greenwood - Habib Beye
Marseille boss Habib Beye insists his side will not go to Monaco and sit back as they look to boost their hopes of finishing in a Champions League spot.
![]()
Dembélé stars as PSG warm up for Liverpool with win over Toulouse
Ousmane Dembélé scored twice in the first half as Paris Saint-Germain beat Toulouse 3-1 and increased its lead of Ligue 1 to four points on Friday.
![]()
Paul Pogba scores in Monaco friendly ahead of return
AS Monaco's bid for a Champions League spot next season could be boosted by the return of midfielder Paul Pogba.
