Monaco Slow Down Lille's Champions League Bid With 1-0 Win

Date: 16 March 2019 - 21:28

News ID: ۶۴۲۹۱

PARIS (Dispatches) -— Monaco have boosted their chances of staying up and slowed down Lille's bid for an automatic Champions League place with a 1-0 away win riday.
Brazilian striker Carlos Vinicius pounced in the last minute to move Monaco up to 16th place in the French league and keep Lille under pressure in the fight for second.
Third-place Lyon can close the gap to four points with a home win against seventh-place Montpellier on Sunday, after which both sides have nine games left.
In Friday's other game, eighth-place Nice conceded a last-gasp equalizer in a 1-1 home draw with 14th-place Toulouse.
As so often this season, Nice played without a recognized center forward and midfielder Wylan Cyprien opened the scoring midway through the first half with a free kick from 30 meters out. Striker Firmin Mubele equalized in the 89th minute for Toulouse, which moved further away from the danger zone.
*****Lille's Rafael Leao, center, attempts a shot on goal during the French League One soccer match between Lille and Monaco at the Lille Metropole stadium, in Villeneuve d'Ascq, northern France, March 15, 2019.