Ligue 1: Lille beats Marseille to stay two points clear of PSG

Canada forward Jonathan David scored two late goals as Lille beat Marseille 2-0 to stay top of the French league.

Published : Mar 04, 2021 11:40 IST , PARIS

Lille players celebrate after Jonathan David scores his side's second goal.
Lille players celebrate after Jonathan David scores his side's second goal.
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Lille players celebrate after Jonathan David scores his side's second goal.

Canada forward Jonathan David scored two late goals as Lille beat Marseille 2-0 to stay top of the French league on Wednesday.

MATCH CENTRE

David netted in the 90th minute and again two minutes into injury time. The northern side remains two points ahead of defending champion Paris Saint-Germain, which won 1-0 away to Bordeaux. Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda kept out shots from United States forward Timothy Weah and David in the second half to frustrate Lille.

But the veteran France No. 2 spilled an angled shot from Jonathan Ikone in the 90th and David finished from close range.

Defending champion PSG was missing Kylian Mbappe through suspension and was without the injured Neymar, while striker Moise Kean was ruled out after testing positive for the coronavirus earlier Wednesday.

Winger Pablo Sarabia filled in and scored in the 20th minute when he turned in Idrissa Gueye’s cross from the left.

Bordeaux winger Hatem Ben Arfa should have equalized against his former club when he ran through in the 70th, only to shoot just wide of the left post.

The top three sides all won 1-0, with Lyon edging out Rennes at home to stay one point behind of PSG.

Lyon is now four points clear of fourth-place Monaco after it lost 1-0 at Strasbourg for a first defeat in 13 league games.

DEPAY DELIVERS

Lyon forward Memphis Depay created the winning goal for substitute Houssem Aouar in the 73rd minute.

Depay sprinted through down the right, but then lost his balance after shrugging off a defender just outside the penalty area. He got quickly back up and slid-tackled the ball to Aouar, who clipped the ball neatly over the goalie.

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Lyon had struggled to break down a well-organized Rennes side whose coach Julien Stephan resigned on Monday after a bad run of form.

Tino Kadewere had a goal ruled out for offside midway through the second half, and strike partner Karl Toko Ekambi went close before Depay delivered.

OTHER MATCHES

Fifth-place Lens continued its good form with a 3-2 win at Saint-Etienne while sixth-place Metz slipped to a 1-0 home defeat to Angers.

Brest beat last-place Dijon 3-1 at home and Nice moved into midtable by downing struggling Nimes 2-1.

Also, Reims beat Nantes 2-1 and Montpellier drew 1-1 with Lorient.

There are 10 rounds left.

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