An Aurélien Tchouaméni double handed Monaco a vital 2-1 win at LOSC to lift Philippe Clément's men up to second in the chase for Champions League qualification.
THE MATCH
The final Friday night fixture of the Ligue 1 Uber Eats season kicked off at the Stade Pierre Mauroy with LOSC hoping to finish strong, despite three defeats in their last four games.
In contrast, Monaco were looking to extend their seven-match winning run as they hunted down a place on the podium.
Sections of the LOSC support had accused their side of going on their holidays already but the sparse crowd could have no complaints with the outgoing champions' application in the early exchanges.
Playing like a team with a point to prove, LOSC took the game to Philippe Clément's side and went close through Gabriel Gudmundsson (9') and Timothy Weah (12').
But despite a promising start from Jocelyn Gourvennec's men, their recent defensive frailties came to light when an unmarked Aurélien Tchouaméni headed wide from 10 yards, letting the hosts off the hook (25').
Opener
But you can't keep a good man down for long and Tchouaméni punished LOSC with a thunderous strike from the edge of the box, to fire Monaco in front (42').
Both sides made a cagey start to the second half with chances at a premium. Jonathan Bamba attempted to breach the Monaco defence but his effort was blocked by Caio Henrique (51').
Angel delight
Refusing to go down without a fight, Gourvennec hauled off the club's top scorer Jonathan David and threw on Angel Gomes in what proved to be an inspired change.
Just 13 minutes after his entrance, the Englishman curled a fabulous 18-yard effort past the hapless Alexander Nubel to level the scoring (69').
A muted Stade Pierre Mauroy crowd had finally found its voice, but it was short lived, as Monaco extended their advantage just six-minutes later.
Double trouble
Tchouaméni found himself in acres of space 25-yards from goal and the Frenchman struck another unstoppable effort that flew in off the post, to nudge the visitors ahead once again.
An energy-zapped LOSC were unable to find that extra gear to salvage a point in the dying moments, leaving the principality side to comfortably see out the game, making it eight victories on the spin.
The result sees Monaco provisionally climb into second place ahead of Marseille's trip to Lorient on Sunday, whilst Rennes travel to Nantes on Wednesday. The battle for the final two Champions League places is heating up!
THE PLAYER: Aurélien Tchouaméni
The 22-year-old midfielder was in sparkling form yet again as Monaco made it eight wins on the bounce. The Frenchman produced two wonderful finishes on the night to hand his side maximum points. A return to the Champions League could be Monaco's best hope of holding onto him next season.
THE STAT: 1
LOSC coach Jocelyn Gourvennec has won just one of his last ten games as a coach against Monaco.
