Monaco draws 1-1 with Lille in France
PARIS (AP) — Second-place Monaco drew 1-1 with Lille on Sunday to trail leader Paris Saint-Germain by 10 points in the French league.
Monaco midfielder Mounir Obbadi shot past goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama to put the hosts ahead in the fourth minute, but Lille forward Divock Origi leveled from close range after some fine work from Ryan Mendes in the 38th.
"We got off to a good start but we didn't manage to kill the game," Monaco defender Nicolas Isimat-Mirin said.
Lille stayed in third place, nine points behind Monaco.
Elsewhere, fourth-place Saint-Etienne beat lowly Sochaux 3-1 to pull within three points of Lille while Lyon kept pace with Saint-Etienne in the race for a European spot by defeating Guingamp 1-0.
At Stade Louis II, Monaco forward Valere Germain beat the offside trap to take a pass from Dimitar Berbatov and squared the ball back to an unmarked Obbadi, who scored with a low strike from 11 yards.
In a first half with very few chances, Lille replied with an acrobatic volley from Idrissa Gueye that went straight into the arms of goalkeeper Danijel Subasic in the 32nd.
Mendes finally cracked the Monaco defense six minutes later by playing a one-two with Salomon Kalou before slipping the ball to Origi, who fired into the bottom corner.
Lille nearly took the lead in the second half when Kalou played Jonathan Delaplace in but Subasic saved the chip from the Lille midfielder in the 49th. Monaco also had an opportunity to score the winner in the 70th but Berbatov headed a corner over the bar.
"We could have troubled them more with a bit more boldness," Lille coach Rene Girard said. "To come here and bring back a point from Monaco is a good result."
In Saint-Etienne, Turkey forward Mevlut Erding headed in a cross from Yohan Mollo to open the scoring in the 46th minute, and the hosts doubled the lead in the 51st when winger Franck Tabanou converted a rebound after Sochaux goalkeeper Yohann Pele palmed away a volley from Renaud Cohade.
Sochaux substitute Edouard Butin pulled one back in the 66th by flicking home a low cross from Sebastien Corchia, but the visitors were reduced to 10 men in the 81st when striker Cedric Bakambu received a second yellow card for handling the ball while attempting to score.
Erding converted a pass from Brazilian forward Brandao to seal the win in the 89th.
"For sure, scoring against Sochaux always bothers me because it's the club where I grew up, it's the club where I learned everything and where I have some good friends," Erding said in the mixed zone. "I hope they will secure safety."
Erding left Sochaux in 2009 to join Paris Saint-Germain.
Lyon striker Bafetimbi Gomis fired in a half-volley from a tight angle in the 46th to help Lyon stay three points behind Saint-Etienne.
However, Lyon lost defenders Milan Bisevac and Mouhamadou Dabo to injury.
"It's never easy to come and win here," Lyon midfielder Maxime Gonalons told the club's website. "The pitch condition did not allow us to keep the ball. We played with our guts."
Paris Saint-Germain edged Lorient 1-0 on Friday.
On Saturday, it was: Marseille 0, Rennes 1; Bastia 2, Reims 0; Bordeaux 1, Nice 1; Nantes 2, Montpellier 1; Toulouse 1, Evian 1; and Valenciennes 2, Ajaccio 3.
