Lille risks falling to sixth place if Lyon, who travel to Brest, and Nice, who face Reims, secure victories in their respective fixtures, both scheduled for Saturday.
Lille and Monaco dropped points in the French title race after drawing their matches against Auxerre (0-0) and Nantes (2-2) in Matchday 17 of the French Ligue 1.
Despite playing almost the entire second half with a man advantage due to the red card shown to Auxerre’s right winger Paul Joly in the 56th minute, Lille could not find the back of the net. Joly was sent off for pulling down an opponent.
Just two minutes later came the pivotal moment of the match when Lille was awarded a penalty. However, Canadian forward Jonathan David had his shot saved by goalkeeper Theo De Percin, who proved to be the standout player for Auxerre with several crucial interventions.
Portuguese international André Gomes started for Lille but was substituted in the 78th minute for Moroccan forward Osame Sahraoui.
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On the other hand, Monaco also faced difficulties in Nantes, drawing 2-2 after initially trailing 2-0. Goals from Matthys Abline and Kelvin Amian in the 17th and 47th minutes put Nantes ahead, but Monaco clawed back thanks to Swiss forward Breel Embolo and Ghanaian center-back Mohammed Salisu, who scored in the 52nd and 59th minutes, respectively.
Portuguese goalkeeper Anthony Lopes, who recently joined Nantes, was in goal but unfortunately misjudged his action for Monaco’s second goal. He poorly came off his line and failed to intercept the ball, allowing Salisu to head it into the net.
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) leads the table with 40 points from 16 matches as they prepare to host Saint-Étienne on Sunday, followed by Marseille (33 points from 16 games), Monaco (32 from 17), Lille (29 from 17), Lyon (28 from 16), and Nice (27 from 16).
With the weekend’s matches approaching, Lille’s position remains precarious as they could slip to sixth if both Lyon and Nice emerge victorious.
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