THE MATCH

Nîmes' improvement under new coach Pascal Plancque has been marked and their great escape is now very much on. The three points lifted Nîmes two spots in the table above Nantes and Lorient, who now fill the second automatic relegation position. Nîmes host Nantes on Sunday and will have an opportunity to put further distance between themselves and the bottom three.

Lorient's fine five-match unbeaten run had been brought to an end by Lille on Sunday and Les Merlus suffered a second straight loss, beaten at the last in this relegation six-pointer.

The sides couldn't be separated until two minutes from time when a penalty was awarded to Nîmes for an Andreaw Gravillon handball after a VAR review. The unflappable Ripart kept his nerve from the spot and sent Matthieu Dreyer the wrong way for the winner.

Lorient centre-half Julien Laporte (31') crashed the ball against Baptiste Reynet's woodwork from 35 metres and Christophe Pelissier's side hit the woodwork again (57') when Terem Moffi headed a Vincent Le Goff cross against the post. Lorient were left to rue their bad luck in those two instances as Nîmes snatched the points late on.

THE PLAYER: Renaud Ripart

Nîmes born and bred, Ripart has the club in his veins. The 27-year-old symbolises the club's unwillingness to give up a fight and his teammates look to him for inspiration. Ripart has scored three goals in his last five Ligue 1 Uber Eats appearances and - unsurprisingly - has emerged as a key figure in Nîmes' battle to avoid the drop.

THE STAT: 9

Lorient have failed to win any of their last nine Ligue 1 away matches (4D, 5L), the longest run in the division.