PARIS: Lille kept their unbeaten record in Ligue 1 but lost top spot after drawing 1-1 at Nice, while sixth-placed Olympique Lyonnais routed Monaco 4-1 on Sunday.

Kasper Dolberg put Nice ahead less than five minutes into the second half, getting in front of Lille defender Domagoj Bradaric before dinking the ball into the net to score his third goal of the season.

Lille levelled in the 58th minute as Luiz Araujo’s pass freed Burak Yilmaz, who hammered home a fierce volley.

Paris St Germain and Lille both have 18 points from eight games but PSG are top with the better goal difference. Patrick Vieira’s Nice sit fifth, four points off the top two.

Lyon ended the eighth round of the French league season with an decisive home victory as Karl Toko Ekambi str­uck twice for the second week in a row.

Memphis Depay opened the scoring after a pass from Houssem Aouar in the 12th minute. Toko Ekambi converted a cross from Tino Kadewere at the second attempt in the 34th minute.

In the 41st minute, the Cameroon striker won a penalty that Aouar converted. Three minutes later, Toko Ekambi took advantage of a misunderstanding in the Monegasque defence to score.

Striker Wissam Ben Yedder pulled a goal back from the spot shortly after the break for 12th-placed Monaco, the 2017 champions, and Lyon defender Melvin Bard was sent off near the end.

Lyon moved up to sixth and next week face Lille.

In other matches, Reims forward Boulaye Dia scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 win at Montpellier, who had two players sent off in the first half, and Girondins de Bordeaux grabbed late goals in a 2-0 home win against Nimes.

Also Sunday, it was: Brest 0, Strasbourg 3; and Metz 2, St Etienne 0.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2020