PARIS: Ligue 1 title hopefuls Monaco slumped to a second successive defeat on Friday, losing 1-0 at home to struggling Angers.

After a 0-0 draw with Lille was followed by a 2-1 derby defeat to Nice, Monaco were undone by a fine 29th-minute strike from Jean-Eudes Aholou.

“It’s our worst match of the season,” said Monaco coach Adi Huetter. “We were missing everything, especially in the first half. Angers played a very good match but above all because of the way we played....it was messy and too slow”.

The defeat leaves Monaco, who travel to Bologna in the Champions League on Tuesday, in danger of losing second place in the table to Olympique Marseille later this weekend.

In stark contrast to Monaco’s fortunes, Angers have now won two games in a row after they had drawn four and lost four of their opening eight games.

Lille stay third after drawing 1-1 with fifth-placed Olympique Lyonnais who salvaged a point in stoppage time thanks to Malick Fofana.

Jonathan David had given Lille a 17th-minute lead, converting a chance created for him by Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

Lille’s next clash is a home tie against Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2024