PARIS: Lille showed their hunger to win the Ligue 1 title with a stunning comeback from two goals down to win 3-2 at Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday thanks to two goals and an assist from Burak Yilmaz, regaining top spot from Paris St Germain.

Islam Slimani put fourth-placed Lyon in front in the 20th minute by drilling into the roof of the net while things got worse for the visitors when captain Jose Fonte diverted the ball into his own net in the 35th.

Lille grabbed a lifeline just before halftime when Burak Yilmaz scored from a free kick, the veteran Turkish striker then turning provider in the second half by laying on a pass for Canadian forward Jonathan David to level from close range.

Yilmaz completed the stirring comeback with five minutes to go thanks to an ice-cool finish past keeper Anthony Lopes, galvanising Lille’s hopes of lifting a first championship in a decade while practically ending Lyon’s slim title chances.

“Scoring just before half-time gave us a lot of confidence, we knew we could go all the way,” David told Canal Plus. “We will celebrate, then focus for the next match. These are victories which prove to us that we can go to the end.”

Lille top the standings on 73 points, one ahead of champions PSG who won 3-1 at Metz on Saturday, while Lyon were left fourth on 67.

Third-placed AS Monaco remained in the hunt by snatching a 1-0 win at Angers with a 79th minute strike from Wissam Ben Yedder, taking the 2017 champions to 71 points with four games to go.

The France striker latched onto a pass from midfield and expertly dinked the ball over onrushing goalkeeper Paul Bernardon for his 18th league goal of the season.

Lens reclaimed the fifth and final European place from Olympique de Marseille with a 2-1 victory over 19th-placed Nimes while seventh-placed Stade Rennais beat last-placed Dijon 5-1. Nice snapped eighth-placed Montpellier’s 11-game unbeaten run with a 3-1 win.

Earlier on Sunday, troubled Girondins Bordeaux suffered their fifth straight defeat, losing 4-1 to Lorient.

Nigerian forward Terem Moffi scored a hat-trick to keep Bordeaux in a battle against relegation, three days after their American owners said they wanted to pull their financial support for the six-time French champions.

Some 1,000 Bordeaux supporters protested in front of the city’s town hall on Saturday demanding the resignation of president Frederic Longuepee, accusing him of plunging the club into bankruptcy.

Bordeaux remain five points clear of the relegation play-off spot, currently occupied by Nantes, who won 2-1 at Strasbourg.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2021