AS Monaco thwarted Paris Saint-Germain's hopes of clinching the Ligue 1 title on Wednesday night and also helped their own chances of reaching the Champions League with a 1-0 victory over LOSC Lille at the Stade Louis II.
Following PSG's 4-1 win over FC Lorient, attention shifted to Monaco. Adi Hütter and his team's match against LOSC Lille held the key: a win would force PSG to postpone their celebrations of a 12th Ligue 1 title while a draw or loss would secure the league for the Parisians.
The first 45 minutes provided no goals for either side as Monaco recorded eight total shots while Lille countered with six total shots. In the second half, Les Rouge et Blanc opened the scoring thanks to a goal from Youssouf Fofana as Monaco had 11 total shots.
Despite registering seven shots, Les Dogues couldn't find the net in the final 45 minutes. The home side held onto their 1-0 lead to take all three points over Lille, delaying PSG's celebrations and keeping them in the title picture.
🚀 @YFofana19_ 🚀
— AS Monaco EN (@AS_Monaco_EN) April 24, 2024
1⃣-0⃣ #ASMLOSC
pic.twitter.com/kbQQUXoOfN
Securing the Ligue 1 title remains a long shot for Monaco, but their win against Lille further solidifies their position in the Champions League spot. Monaco are currently above Paulo Fonseca's team by six points and lead third-placed Stade Brestois by five points with all three teams having four games left in their Ligue 1 schedule.
Despite the setback, Lille are still in line for a qualifying spot in the Champions League and are just one point behind Brest for an automatic place that comes with a top-three finish. Their upcoming matches against Olympique Lyonnais and OGC Nice will be crucial in deciding their final standing in the top part of the Ligue 1 table.
Lille will face FC Metz on Sunday as they aim for a bounce-back win, but Les Grenats are a tough opponent. Metz are currently fighting to avoid relegation and have won their last two games thanks to in-form Georges Mikautadze, so both teams will be battling to ensure they leave the contest with all three points.
As for Monaco, they head into this weekend's matchup against Olympique Lyonnais at Groupama Stadium riding a four-game winning streak. Lyon will be the final top-half team on Monaco's schedule that they'll face. The other three teams are Montpellier, FC Nantes, and Clermont Foot.
>>FOCUS: In-form AS Monaco Retake Second Place
>>FOCUS: Mikautadze Helps Metz Fight the Drop
