Germain scores as Monaco overcome Montpellier 1-0

Germain fires Monaco to victory

Valere Germain's last minute goal gave Monaco a 1-0 victory at Montpellier in Ligue 1.

Just when it seemed the game was destined to end goalless, substitute Germain received the ball from Layvin Kurzawa and netted to give Monaco a second away win of the season, which moves them into mid-table.

Montpellier were the first side to threaten in the fifth minute - but Kevin Berigaud, under pressure from Ricardo Carvalho, shot over from 12 yards.

The visitors, unbeaten in league play in Montpellier since 1990, hit back four minutes later when Geoffrey Kongdobia shot over - and in the 15th minute Kurzawa picked out Joao Moutinho but the unmarked Portugal international headed straight at Montpellier goalkeeper Geoffrey Jourdren from eight yards.

Berigaud had a goal for Montpellier ruled out for offside in the 20th minute, before play swung to the other end where Jourden smothered an effort from Fabinho.

The home side's best first-half chance came six minutes before the interval when Anthony Mounier shot wide, after the ball broke for him when goalkeeper Daniel Subasic came off his line to deny Lucas Barrios.

Monaco's Geoffrey Kondogbia tried his luck from 25 yards out but the impeccable Jourdren collected in the 58th minute.

Mounier found space on the left in the 64th minute and crossed for Souleymane Camara, who headed over, then the same player fired a half-volley straight at Subasic.

Camara went close again with a header but his glancing effort from Mounier's delivery ended up going just wide.

However, the visitors finished strongest and after Jeremy Toulalan had seen a superb 20-yard volley from a corner hacked off the line by Morgan Sanson, they won it when Kurzawa set up Germain, who finished emphatically from 10 yards.

Lille lost top spot after Montpellier draw 0-0

 

Lille concede top spot with Montpellier draw

Unable to find a way past a solid Montpellier outfit at the Stade Pierre Mauroy on Sunday, Lille drew 0-0 and slipped to third place. Still, René Girard's men remain unbeaten in Ligue 1 this season with just a single goal conceded.

Lille topped the Ligue 1 table after last weekend's 2-o win over Nantes, but after Marseille's win over Rennes on Saturday, René Girard's men needed to do better than the 0-0 draw with Montpellier - where the league's top two defences reigned - to hang onto top spot.

Perhaps paying the costs of their mid-week Europa League exertions in the 1-1 with FK Krasnodar, Lille - without injured striker Nolan Roux - struggled to make the most of their chances in the first half despite dominating proceedings and constructing their play well.

Lille menace up front

Switzerland U-21 international Michael Frey, signed from Young Boys Bern in the summer, made his first start for Les Dogues in place of Roux and linked up well with strike partner Ryan Mendes and Portuguese playmaker Marcos 'Rony' Lopes but failed to make the break on several occasions (6', 10', 18').

Belgian Jonathan Delaplace had Lille's best chance but shot across the face of goal after some neat one-touch play with Frey and Lopes (24') and although Lille's forward line seemed to be wearing Montpellier's five-man defence down, raining shots on goal, the sides went into the break with the corers still untroubled.

Sanson impact

Looking for more cutting edge up front, and perhaps sensing that Lille's relentless forward movement could leave them open at the back, Montpellier boss Rolland Courbis switched his 5-4-1 formation to a 4-4-2 with 20-year-old midfield sensation Morgan Sanson coming on for Paul Lasne and Kévin Bérigaud and Victor-Hugo Montaño playing alongside each other up front.

The visitors looked a different side after Sanson's entry into play, and as they began to move forward, left-back Siaka Tiéné carved out his side's best chance of the match as he raced onto Bérigaud's lay-off and launch a curler that had Vincent Enyeama beaten but which flew narrowly wide of the target (60').

Lille's chance to reclaim top spot comes with Wednesday's trip to Nice, while Montpellier, who climbed from 6^th to provisional fourth place with the draw, will play host to Monaco, also on Wednesday.

Montpellier HSC outlasts Olympique Marseille 2-0

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Montpellier bounced back from their opening-day defeat to record an impressive 2-0 victory at Marseille.  Rolland Courbis' side were beaten 2-1 by Bordeaux on the opening weekend but hit back in the best way possible, with Anthony Mounier and Morgan Sanson getting the goals.

Marseille had no answer, meaning their start to the season now reads one point from a possible six after their 3-3 draw with Bastia.

They were rarely in this one, with Montpellier getting on top from the off and crucially making their dominance count as the newly-renovated Stade Velodrome played host to its first Ligue 1 match.

Steve Mandanda stopped the visitors scoring with just nine minutes gone, producing a fine block as Benjamin Stambouli broke through and took aim after robbing Brice Djadjedje of possession.

The scoring was opened nine minutes later, though, as Mounier found himself in the right place and unmarked from a Mathieu Deplagne cross. He had plenty of time to decide what to do and opted for a lofted finish over the helpless Mandanda.

That prodded Marseille into life and Florian Thauvin tried to get them going, running at the Montpellier defence and unleashing a strike that Geoffrey Jourdren did well to block. Back came Montpellier with Sanson's corner finding Stambouli who saw a well-executed volley just skip wide.

The break offered both sides some respite before Marseille returned to look for a leveller, with Dimitri Payet putting a free-kick just over.  But with that digesting, Sanson made it two on the counter. Mounier led it, racing away and then providing a great cross for Sanson who did the rest.

Marseille rallied, with Jourdren doing well to deny both Romain Alessandrini and Benjamin Mendy and, when Andre-Pierre Gignac also found the keeper in his way late on, the home side knew it was not going to be their day.