PARIS: Monaco moved back above Nice into second place in Ligue 1 and strengthened their hopes of a Champions League spot on Sunday with a comfortable 4-0 triumph at home to struggling Toulouse.

Bernardo Silva and Fabio Coentrao gave Monaco a 2-0 lead before Toulouse’s hopes of a lifeline were dashed when Wissam Ben Yedder had his penalty saved brilliantly by Danijel Subasic.

Argentine stiker Guido Carrillo and Portuguese winger Helder Costa then rounded off the win after the break with a pair of tap-ins.

The result takes Monaco back up to second on 39 points, three ahead of Nice who defeated Lorient 2-1 at home on Saturday, although they remain 21 points behind runaway leaders Paris St Germain, who trounced Angers 5-1.

Fifth-placed Angers have 34 points and are behind Stade Rennes on goal difference.

Leonardo Jardim’s Monaco side are desperate to secure a top-two finish and a guaranteed berth in the Champions League group stage.

Having finished third last season, Monaco ultimately missed out on Europe’s top club competition altogether following a play-off defeat to Valencia.

On Saturday, PSG — led by two brilliant goals from Angel di Maria — crushed Angers to continue their march to a fourth-straight title.

Angers boasted an excellent defensive record heading into the game, but had little answer once star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic put PSG ahead in the 32nd minute at the Parc des Princes.

Di Maria capped an outstanding performance with two goals midway through the second half, after Brazilian winger Lucas and right back Gregory van der Wiel had scored either side of halftime.

Nice rallied to beat Lorient with another solo goal from winger Hatem Ben Arfa, while Caen won 2-1 at Montpellier and Guingamp secured a 1-0 victory over nine-man Bastia.

Troyes finally registered their first win of the season after coming from behind to win 3-1 at Lille, with Bordeaux rallying late on to draw 2-2 at Nantes.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2016