The key facts

  • After beating Angers 2-0, Lyon are third, three points behind PSG
  • Paris FC are fourth, behind Lyon only on goal difference
  • PSG have won nine matches in a row in all competitions after the 5-1 over Le Havre

The race for the top is gathering pace

Lyon and Paris FC both claimed victories on Sunday and closed in on defending champions PSG at the top of the Ligue 1 table, AFP reports. Lyon beat Angers 2-0 at home thanks to a first-half goal from Ernest Nuamah and a second-half strike from captain Corentin Tolisso, bouncing back from a 2-0 defeat to PSG in the previous round. The seven-time French champions are now third: three points behind leaders PSG and one behind second-placed Lille.

Paris FC and Monaco's crisis

Paris FC, owned by the Arnault family, sit fourth in the table — level with Lyon only on goal difference after a 3-1 win over Monaco at the Stade Jean-Bouin. Lassine Sinayoko scored twice late in the first half, then on 65 minutes Folarin Balogun pulled one back, but Pablo Pagis soon restored the two-goal lead. For Balogun it was his first goal of the season and his first since July, when he scored for the United States in a 1-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup round of 32. According to AFP, the American has not started a single match for Monaco this season after a turbulent summer: a controversial red card at the World Cup (following intervention by US President Donald Trump) and his refusal to sign for Everton before the transfer window deadline. Monaco, meanwhile, have now gone four Ligue 1 matches without a win.

PSG keep rolling, Le Havre change leadership

PSG sit comfortably top of the table: on Friday Luis Enrique's side thrashed bottom club Le Havre 5-1, with Achraf Hakimi scoring a hat-trick, and the club recorded a ninth straight win in all competitions. Le Havre, still without a win this season, sacked coach Didier Digard on Saturday — a decision taken by the club's American owners, after which president Jean-Michel Roussier also resigned.

Other results and the situation with Lyon's coach

On Friday Lille beat their northern neighbours Lens 1-0 thanks to a late goal from 40-year-old Olivier Giroud. Strasbourg ended a run of four defeats on Sunday by thrashing Auxerre 5-1: Moroccan Gessim Yassine provided an assist, won a penalty and scored twice himself late on; for Auxerre, Cameron Archer got on the scoresheet, taking his tally to six goals in seven Ligue 1 matches while on loan from Southampton. Lyon's win came amid reports that coach Paulo Fonseca is close to leaving the club to return to Portugal, where Sporting are reportedly interested in him. 'Tomorrow morning I will definitely be with the players, but beyond that it is hard to say,' Fonseca told the post-match press conference, visibly shedding tears as he embraced his coaching staff after the game. In the late Sunday fixture, Marseille hosted Toulouse.