AS Monaco 3-0 Dijon FCO

THE MATCH

Given they began the day rooted to the foot of the table, Dijon gave a good account of themselves in the first half. Bruno Ecuele Manga headed narrowly off-target after a long-range free-kick (21'), and although Guillermo Maripan had a similar effort ruled out for offside at the other end (24'), the visitors were in the ascendancy for much of the opening period. Saturnin Allagbé was told recently by David Linarès that he would be les Hoboux's first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Anthony Racioppi until the end of the campaign, and the Beninese showed why he had his coach's faith with a fine stop from Stevan Jovetic, who had burst through for a one-on-one (26'). Dijon might even have carried a 1-0 lead into the interval had Mama Baldé's finish done the skill that preceded it justice, but Allagbé's opposite number Benjamin Lecomte made the save (38') and it was goalless at the break.

Monaco make sure

That changed just five minutes after the restart, though. Ben Yedder's turn of pace caught Ecuele Manga out in the box, leaving referee Aurélien Petit with no choice but to point to the spot, and although Allagbé saved Ben Yedder's subsequent spot-kick, Jovetic was on hand to fire home the rebound (50'). Aleksandr Golovin looked odds on to make it 2-0 minutes later, but Allagbé was well-positioned to make the save once again (57'). Ben Yedder did the honours soon after, though, Golovin slipping him through for a fine first-time finish (63'). Allagbé then stuck out a leg to deny Golovin from point-blank range (69') as Monaco turned the screw. Ben Yedder added gloss to the scoreline with another late penalty (89') and it ended 3-0.

THE PLAYER: Wissam Ben Yedder

Allagbé deserves a special mention for how frustrated he made Monaco for long periods, but with well-taken 16th and 17th goals of the season, and having earned the penalty which ultimately led to the opener five minutes after his half-time introduction, the French international forward's impact on this game was undeniable.

THE STAT: 94%

Monaco are undefeated in 16 of their last 17 matches - 94% of all games over the period - after Sunday's hard-fought victory. Coach Niko Kovac is refusing to be drawn on the club's chances of a return to European football after a year away, but they have been at least fourth in the table for 14 rounds of fixtures, and have momentum on their side.

RC Lens 4-1 FC Lorient

Lens might have been derailed by a bout of coronavirus which meant Loïc Badé, Seko Fofana, Ignatius Ganago, and Tony Mauricio were unavailable, but they came out of the blocks flying at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis and took the lead early on thanks to a Gaël Kakuta penalty (15'). Terem Moffi pulled one back midway through the first half but Corentin Jean restored Lens' advantage (39') before Arnaud Kalimuendo (55') and Simon Banza (pen. 88') put the result beyond doubt.  

AS Saint-Étienne 4-1 Girondins de Bordeaux

There was another big scoreline at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, AS Saint-Étienne beating Girondins de Bordeaux by exactly the same margin to win just their second home game in 14 home league fixtures. Bordeaux took the early lead through Hwang Ui-Jo (pen. 9'), but Wahbi Khazri replied with a spot-kick off his own (19'). The Tunisian then completed his hat-trick (23', pen. 71') before Zaydou Youssouf capped off the win late on (81').

Stade Brestois 29 1-1 Nîmes Olympique

It was honours even between Stade Brestois 29 and Nîmes Olympique at the Stade Francis-Le Blé, meanwhile. Moussa Koné gave visiting Nîmes an early lead (11'), but Brendan Chardonnet forced home the equaliser following a Romain Faivre corner (26') and it ended 1-1.

OGC Nice 0-0 Stade de Reims

There was no separating OGC Nice and Stade de Reims at the Allianz Riviera, either. There were 23 shots but only three on target on the Côte d'Azur, Walter Benitez and visiting goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic enjoying quiet days at the office.