Monaco strike late to see off St-Étienne
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Article summary
Substitute Lucas Ocampos struck late on as AS Monaco FC edged AS Saint-Étienne 2-1 to move three points clear at the top of Ligue 1, while LOSC Lille and FC Nantes also won.
Article top media content
Article body
A late goal from Lucas Ocampos secured AS Monaco FC a 2-1 victory against AS Saint-Étienne that sent Claudio Ranieri's men three points clear at the top of Ligue 1.
With Paris Saint-Germain FC visiting arch-rivals Olympique de Marseille in Le Classique on Sunday, Monaco were keen to return to winning ways at the summit and made a strong start at the Stade Louis II. A quarter of an hour into the game, Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco opened the scoring following a superb through ball from James Rodríguez.
Romain Hamouma levelled the scores shortly after the restart, however, and Monaco struggled to regain their lead until three minutes from time, when substitute Ocampos finished at the far post from a Rodríguez cross.
Level on points with Marseille in fourth, LOSC Lille also enjoyed a win, Pape Souaré, Idrissa Gueye and Salomon Kalou all on target in a 3-0 defeat of AC Ajaccio.
Behind LOSC in fifth, FC Nantes saw off Évian Thonon Gaillard FC by the same scoreline, Filip Djordjević scoring twice, while Toulouse FC overcame OGC Nice 1-0, EA Guingamp downed Stade Rennais FC 2-0 and Valenciennes FC drew 1-1 with Stade de Reims.