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Attendance: 7,147

Ligue 1

Mar 16, 2018 at 7.45pm UK

Monaco Monaco
2-1
Lille

Lopes (44'), Jovetic (61')

FT(HT: 1-1)

Mothiba (16')

Monaco edge out Lille to tighten grip on second place

By Mark Langshaw, Reporter | 16 March 2018

Monaco come from behind to edge out Lille

Rony Lopes and Stevan Jovetic are on target as Monaco tighten their grip on second place in Ligue 1 with a 2-1 win over Lille at the Stade Louis II.

Monaco have tightened their grip on second place in Ligue 1 after coming from behind to defeat relegation-threatened Lille 2-1 at the Stade Louis II.

The away side dominated the early stages of the game and took a deserved lead through Lebo Mothiba, but strikes from Rony Lopes and Stevan Jovetic before the interval were the difference between the two teams.

Leonardo Jardim's side started the evening on the front foot and came close in the fourth minute when Thomas Lemar's free kick found Kamil Glik in the penalty area, and his header drifted inches away from the top corner.

Both sides claimed possession in the opposition's half during the opening stages and it was Lille who made it count, taking the lead in the 16th minute when Thiago Mendes fed the ball to Mothiba in the box, and the South African tucked a left-footed strike into the bottom corner.

Thiago Maia almost doubled the visitors' lead 10 minutes later as he let fly from the edge of the box, forcing Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic to react quickly and pull off a save.

Mothiba had the chance to claim his second of the night with half time approaching when he exchanged passes with Yassine Benzia and pulled the trigger from range, forcing Subasic to produce acrobatics to prevent the strike from finding the top corner.

Monaco spent much of the first half under the cosh, but they found an equaliser two minutes before the break, Lopes popping up in the box to bundle the ball beyond Mike Maignan to restore the parity.

The hosts showed more attacking ambition early in the second period, with Radamel Falcao and Lemar firing early warning shots, neither of which was on target.

Falcao did manage to trouble Maignan moments later when he headed Joao Moutinho's dangerous cross towards goal, forcing the Lille stopper into a save.

Monaco took the lead for the first time in the match just after the hour, and Moutinho was the provider, supplying a pass for substitute Jovetic to smash into the back of the net from close range.

There were no clear-cut chances at either end of the park after Monaco's second goal went in until the 86th minute, when Luiz Araujo unleashed a vicious strike from the edge of the area, which Subasic proved equal to.

Lille threw bodies forward in search of an equaliser in the closing stages and half-chances fell to Ibrahim Amadou and Araujo moments apart, but both of their efforts were blocked before they could trouble the Monaco goalkeeper.

There was still time for a last-ditch attempt at goal from the visitors in stoppage time, with Fares Bahlouli playing a free kick long into the area and Amadou meeting it with a header, only to put his effort into the stand, squandering the final goalscoring opportunity of the night.

The win gives Monaco a seven-point lead over Marseille in the battle for the Ligue 1 runners-up spot behind champions-elect Paris Saint-Germain, while Lille remain deep in relegation trouble in 19th.

MONACO (4-2-3-1): Subasic; Jemerson, Glik, Raggi, Sidibe; Moutinho, Tielemans; Lemar, Lopes (N'Doram 88'), Balde (Jovetic 45'); Falcao (Ghezzal 76')

LILLE (4-4-2): Maignan; Alonso, Soumaoro (Malcuit 80'), Toure, Ie; Maia, Amadou, Benzia (Araujo 75'), Mendes; Mothiba (Bahlouli 75'), Pepe