PARIS: Lille showed the attacking flair and resilient qualities befitting a side challenging for second place, winning 3-2 at Nimes on Sunday despite playing most of the Ligue 1 match with 10 men.

Striker Nicolas Pepe took his goals tally to 12 so far this season with a fine goal against Nimes midway through the second half.

Nimes scored again two minutes into injury time through Clement Depres’ header and hit the crossbar in the fifth minute of added-on time.

Lille were leading 1-0 thanks to forward Rafael Leao’s fourth-minute header when center half and captain Jose Fonte was shown a red card in the 16th for remonstrating angrily with a fourth official after a throw-in was awarded to Nimes. Lille coach Christophe Galtier was also irate and sent to the stands for the rest of the game.

Despite the setback, Lille went 2-0 ahead close to half-time through Jonathan Bamba’s defl­e­cted strike, with Pepe involved in the move.

Then Pepe scored the goal of the game, running from deep and accelerating away before finishing with a powerful strike past goalkeeper Paul Bernardoni, while striker Rachid Alioui quickly got one back for 10th-placed Nimes.

Lille are 10 points behind runaway leaders Paris St Germain, who have played two fewer matches, and are three ahead of third-placed Olympique Lyonnais who beat a weak AS Monaco side.

Forward Nabil Fekir scored for the second time in a matter of days as he scored a superb goal to secure a 1-1 draw at Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday, sending Lyon into Monday’s draw for the last-16 of the Champions League.

Fekir turned in Dutch defender Kenny Tete’s cross to make it 2-0 in the 34th after midfielder Houssem Aouar struck early on.

It got worse for Monaco when Russia midfielder Aleksandr Golovin was sent off just after the break for a crude challenge on Aouar. Defender Ferland Mendy headed home Tete’s cross in the 59th.

In other matches, After a club record six straight league games without allowing a goal, Nice drew 1-1 at home to Saint-Etienne.

Striker Lois Diony’s 54th-minute goal was the first let in by Nice since a 1-0 home loss to Marseille on Oct 21. After both sides were shown a red card, Nice midfielder Wylan Cyp­rien equalised from the penalty spot in the 81st.

Saint-Etienne is in fifth place and Nice is seventh.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2018