The battle in the French league for the second direct ticket to the group stage of the Champions League, continued tonight (Saturday) with a very disappointing loss for Marseille, 2:1 to Lille away. Nantes remained below the red line following a 3:0 home loss to Montpellier.
Lille – Marseille 1:2
A very disappointing loss for Marseille, one that keeps them away from second place which is worth automatic promotion to the group stage of the Champions League. If she finishes third, she will have to play in the qualifiers and right now that seems to be the direction. Jonathan Kloss actually raised the team from the south of France to 0:1 in the 29th minute, but Jonathan David (49th penalty) and Jonathan Bamba (72nd) converted in the second half. Lille with an important victory in the fight for fifth place and the ticket to Europe.
Nantes – Montpellier 3:0
Antoine Combuare was fired after 11 games without a win in the league and a loss in the cup final, and his replacement Pierre Aristoi does not bring Nantes the good news either. After a 0:0 draw in Toulouse last week, the interim coach lost the home opener and the Canaries remained below the red line, in danger of relegation after a consecutive decade in the top league. Montpellier has long since lost interest in the league and is missing its top scorer Eli Vahi, who is yellow, but that didn’t stop her from celebrating an impressive victory. Jordan Perry celebrated his 300th league game in style with a goal in the 38th minute, Arno Norden doubled the score in the 47th minute and defender Pele Sacco signed in the 88th minute with a debut goal in Ligue 1.
Sunday games
Ajaccio – Ran (2:00 p.m.)
Brest – Clermont (16:00)
Nice – Toulouse (16:00)
Reims – Angers (16:00)
Troyes – Strasbourg (16:00)
Lorraine – Lance (18:05)
Auxerre – Paris Saint-Germain (22:00)
