Lille down Nice to stay on top; Bordeaux ease relegation fears with Rennes win

Burak Yilmaz again starred as Lille stayed on course to win the Ligue 1 title by beating 10-man Nice 2-0 on Saturday, a result that keeps the northern side a point clear of defending champions Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the table with three games left.

Yilmaz and fellow Turkish international Zeki Celik scored the goals for Lille against a Nice team who played most of the second half a man short after defender Jordan Lotomba was sent off.

Veteran striker Yilmaz, 35, had been the inspiration with a brace as Lille came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Lyon last weekend and he was also the catalyst here as Christophe Galtier’s side responded perfectly after PSG had beaten Lens 2-1 earlier to move provisionally to the summit.

Yilmaz scored with a pinpoint low strike into the far corner from 20 metres following a Jonathan David lay-off on 13 minutes, and he also struck the post in the second half.

After Lotomba was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Jonathan Bamba at the start of the second half, Celik volleyed in Lille’s second goal in the 56th minute as he latched onto a clearance and volleyed in from just outside the box.

If Lille win their final three games against Lens, Saint-Etienne and Angers, they will be champions for the first time since 2011.

“Three points, a clean sheet, it’s good,” captain Jose Fonte told broadcaster Canal+.

“It was important to win at home because we hadn’t won here for a while, and the battles goes on. We have three difficult games left and we just need to keep fighting.”

Bordeaux snapped a run of five successive defeats with a 1-0 home victory over European hopefuls Rennes on Sunday to edge clear of a potential relegation battle.

Teenager Sekou Mara scored the winner 11 minutes into his first Ligue 1 start after Rennes were reduced to 10 men following the early dismissal of France midfielder Steven Nzonzi.

Some 800 Bordeaux fans escorted the Bordeaux team coach from their hotel to the Matmut Atlantique, in a show of support for a struggling club that was placed into administration last month.

American investment fund King Street recently announced it was going to pull its financial support for the six-time French champions, sparking fears the club could go out of business.

Supporters, some carrying smoke grenades and others waving flags, again voiced their anger at president Frederic Longuepee, accusing him of plunging the club into bankruptcy.

Last week, they had protested in front of the city’s town hall demanding Longuepee’s resignation. On Sunday, many supported the team from just outside ground as Bordeaux won for only the second time in 14 games.

Jean-Louis Gasset’s side moved eight points clear of the bottom three although that gap could be cut later Sunday with Nantes and Nimes both in action.

Defeat for Rennes denied them the chance of climbing into the final European spot in fifth.

Neymar scored one goal and set up the other for Marquinhos as PSG edged Lens at home to claim a vital three points in between the two legs of their Champions League semi-final against Manchester City.

Pochettino ‘optimistic’ for Mbappe: Coach Mauricio Pochettino made six changes to his team from the first leg which PSG lost 2-1 against Pep Guardiola’s side, with Kylian Mbappe watching from the stands because of a slight calf injury.

However Pochettino said he was confident Mbappe would be fit for the game in Manchester on Tuesday.

“I am always optimistic and I still am,” Pochettino told Canal+.

“We think he will be there but we will make a decision before the game.”

Angel Di Maria was also rested but Neymar started and pounced when Argentine defender Facundo Medina gave the ball away under pressure to run through and score PSG’s opener in the 33rd minute, his seventh league goal of the campaign.

Marquinhos then headed in a Neymar corner to make it 2-0 just before the hour mark, with Ignatius Ganago getting a goal back for Lens shortly after.

Lens, who saw a 13-game unbeaten run ended, remain fifth, just ahead of Marseille in the fight for France’s last European qualifying berth.

Agence France-Presse