Mama Baldé and Ngonda Muzinga were on target as bottom club Dijon FCO stunned OGC Nice with a 3-1 win at the Allianz Riviera on Sunday.
OGC Nice 1-3 Dijon FCO
Nice were admittedly shorthanded, with midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin suspended and striker Kasper Dolberg having tested positive for coronavirus, but Patrick Vieira will still have been surprised at how overrun his team where, midweek UEFA Europa League duty or not.
Baldé opened the scoring midway through the first half when Dijon hit Nice on the counter following a corner, the Bissau-Guinean attacker reacting quickest after Walter Benitez had parried Éric Ebimbe's shot (21'). Muzinga then made it 2-0 10 minutes later, cutting in from the left before leaving Benitez with no chance (31').
Balde put his side further clear midway through the second half, capitalising after Danilo Barbosa had let the ball bounce in the box (66'), and although Amine Gouiri pulled one back from the penalty spot (80') it was to prove too little, too late for les Aiglons.
AS Monaco 3-0 Nîmes Olympique
AS Monaco pulled up to fourth in the table with their fourth win on the bounce, Kevin Volland tallying a goal and an assist as the principality side beat Nîmes Olympique 3-0 at the Stade Louis II.
The Germany international crossed for Sofiane Diop early on and although the France Under-20 forward had to control quickly with Patrick Burner changing the trajectory of the ball, he did so with aplomb before volleying home his third goal of the campaign (19').
Nîmes midfielder Lucas Deaux was given his marching orders for a foul on Diop in the second half (69') and Maonco took full advantage of their numerical superiority. Gelson Martins headed home Ruben Aguilar's cross (75') before Volland capped off the scoring himself with a neat finish from close range (77').
FC Lorient 0-1 Montpellier Hérault SC
Montpellier Hérault SC remain in third, above Monaco on goal-difference, after they overcame a stubborn FC Lorient 1-0 at the Stade du Moustoir.
Téji Savanier might have given La Paillade the lead on the stroke of half-time after Julien Laporte handballed in the box following the midfielder's corner, but he sent the subsequent spot-kick over the bar (45'+5).
Second-half substitute Petar Skuletic spared his blushes, though. The Serbia striker - just one minute after replacing Gaëtan Laborde - capped off a fine counter-attacking move (79') and Montopellier held on to win, also for the fourth time in a row.
RC Lens 1-3 Angers SCO
Elsewhere, Angers SCO pulled to withing a point of RC Lens in mid-table with a comprehensive 3-1 win at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis - the hosts' first home defeat in six.
The game was finely-poised at half-time, with Mathias Pereira Lage's thumping long-range half-volley (22') cancelled out when Arnaud Kalimuendo latched onto a fine Gaël Kakuta through-ball to finish (35').
Angers pulled clear in the second half, though. Stéphane Bahoken turned home Angelo Fulgini's corner with a stunning conversion soon after the restart (49') and les Scoïstes deservedly added some gloss to the scoreline late on when Ibrahim Amadou's shot bounced back off the post for Pierrick Capelle, who was left with an easy finish (90'+2).
FC Metz 0-2 Stade Brestois 29
Stade Brestois 29 were 2-0 winners at FC Metz, meanwhile, with and Irvin Cardona strike and John Boye own goal seeing the hosts' eight-match unbeaten run screech to a halt at the Stade Saint-Symphorien
Cardona got the scoring underway early on when he got on the end of Romain Faivre's out-swinging corner (12') and the game was put beyond Metz's reach just past the hour mark when Boye - trying to turn a Cordona chance clear - bundled the ball into his own goal (64').