Ligue-1: Lille overcome Marseille 3-0, PSG win 8th straight match

Image Credits: Reuters

Winger Nicolas Pepe won two penalties, converting one himself, as Lille beat Olympique de Marseille 3-0 to move into second place in Ligue 1, eight points behind leaders Paris St Germain, who defeated Nice 3-0 on Saturday. 

Lille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda conceded a penalty in the 63rd minute of Sunday`s late game when he brought down Pepe, who stepped up to slam the spot kick past the hapless keeper. Marseille quickly brought on the attacking duo of Dimitri Payet and Kostas Mitroglou. But as they fought back desperately Pepe was brought down again, this time by Luiz Gustavo, and Jonathan Bamba scored from the spot in the 86th minute.

FULL TIME! It's all over at the @StadePM, where LOSC have beaten Olympique de Marseille to move second in the @Ligue1_ENG table! #LOSCOM 3-0 pic.twitter.com/OtBnYtYgfR

— LOSC Lille EN (@LOSC_EN) September 30, 2018

Bamba put the game out of reach three minutes later, stabbing full back Fode Ballo-Toure`s pass home from close range. 

PSG maintained their grip on the first position with a 3-0 win over Nice, with Neymar scoring twice for the visitors and the home side reduced to 10 men after Wylan Cyprien was sent off in the 59th minute. It was PSG`s eighth win in eight league games this season, and the champions have now scored 27 goals while conceding only six. 

OGC Nice@neymarjr: "It was a very important win tonight. We continue our winning streak."

#AllezParis pic.twitter.com/Cphr4jW39O

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) September 29, 2018

Earlier on Sunday, Montpellier`s third goal in the 79th minute of their 3-0 victory against Nimes sparked crowd trouble that delayed the game for half an hour, with referee Ruddy Buquet removing the players from the field before returning to finish the game. 

The result moved Montpellier into third place in the standings ahead of St Etienne, who beat Monaco 2-0 at home on Friday, on goal difference. Rennes looked set to take all three points against 10-man Toulouse thanks to a Mbaye Niang penalty in the 70th minute. However, Jean-Clair Todibo struck three minutes from time in Sunday`s early game to give the visitors a hard-earned point.

Bottom side Guingamp got their first win of the season on Saturday, Nicolas Benezet firing the only goal of the game as they won 1-0 away to Angers, while fellow strugglers Nantes battled to a 1-1 draw away to Olympique Lyonnais.

 After losing 3-2 late on to Marseille on Wednesday, Strasbourg bounced back to climb into eighth place with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Dijon.