AS Monaco 1-0 OGC Nice

THE MATCH

Monaco had been eight points adrift of Nice in the table at the end of February but a resurgence in form from Philippe Clément’s side meant they could leapfrog their local rivals with a victory at the Stade Louis II. That is exactly what they did as Golovin’s goal in first-half stoppage time proved the difference, the Russian pouncing to turn in the rebound after Walter Benítez had parried a low Vanderson cross.

The principality side had been the more likely side prior to that, with skipper Wissam Ben Yedder coming closest to scoring, his 38th-minute shot being saved by Benítez after the France striker had been released by Golovin.

Nice posed more of a threat in the second half but they created few clear openings of their own, at least after Andy Delort had an attempt saved in the 47th minute. Meanwhile Kevin Volland had a shot tipped over at the other end and Ben Yedder hit the post in the 72nd minute after being left with just Benítez to beat.

The prolific home captain was then denied by Benítez moments later as Nice maintained their status as the side with the best defensive record in Ligue 1 Uber Eats. Yet they could not find an equaliser and saw Monaco move above them in the standings. There is still a long way to go in the battle for European qualification but right now it is Monaco who look likely to finish the campaign in the higher position.

THE PLAYER: Vanderson

The Brazilian January signing was brought in as a right-back but has been useful further forward on the wing in recent weeks. He scored one goal and set up another in last weekend’s win away to Stade Rennais FC, and here it was his cross that led to Golovin netting the only goal of the derby.

THE STAT: 6

As in the paltry number of goals Nice have scored in their last 11 league games. That is not good enough for a team trying to qualify for Europe.

Elsewhere on Wednesday Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne played out a 2-2 draw in a huge game between two giants of the French game who are battling to avoid the drop. Sekou Mara put Bordeaux ahead in the 16th minute with a first-time finish from a corner and Jean Onana headed in their second goal soon after. However, Denis Bouanga reduced the deficit just after the half-hour mark and Arnaud Nordin’s 65th-minute strike allowed Les Verts to depart with a precious point, although the hosts had a late goal disallowed for offside after a VAR review.

That result means Bordeaux remain in the automatic relegation places and are four points adrift of Saint-Etienne, who slip into the relegation play-off place. Clermont moved out of the bottom three and above the 10-time champions thanks to a 1-0 win away at ESTAC Troyes. Both sides had a man sent off in the second half at the Stade de l’Aube, with Clermont’s Alidu Seidu being dismissed before Mama Baldé was shown a red card for the hosts. Mohamed Bayo then tucked in the only goal of the evening - his 11th of the season - two minutes from time.

A first win in eight lifts Clermont out of the bottom three, meaning Bordeaux are now five points from outright safety with five games left. Bottom side Metz are eight points from outright safety and look certain to be going down after losing 1-0 at FC Lorient. Dango Ouattara scored the only goal of the game in the fifth minute of injury time as the Bretons moved three points clear of the bottom three. Metz are now 12 without a win.

Elsewhere outgoing champions LOSC Lille saw their European hopes suffer a potentially fatal blow as they lost 2-1 away at Stade de Reims. Marshall Munetsi bundled Reims into a first-half lead only for Renato Sanches to equalise with a superb long-range not long after half-time. However, Yunis Abdelhamid bettered that with a brilliant goal of his own two minutes into injury time to win it for the hosts.