Monaco maintain pressure at the top | OneFootball

Monaco won at Bordeaux to maintain their Ligue 1 Uber Eats title challenge. At the bottom, Dijon ended a 12-game losing run by winning at home to Nice.

BORDEAUX 0-3 MONACO

THE MATCH:

Monaco closed to within two points of leaders Lille as they recorded a 14th win in their last 18 Ligue 1 outings to maintain their impressive form under Niko Kovac. Bordeaux slumped to their fourth straight home defeat as Jean-Louis Gasset's defensive tactics failed to prevent the visitors from the Principality recording their customary three points.

Aleksandr Golovin (14') brought the best out of home goalkeeper Benoît Costil, who saved a powerful right-footed effort with his feet. The Monaco opener (29') was glorious as Wissam Ben Yedder - the skipper recalled to the starting eleven after back-to-back braces off the bench - played a gem of a pass to find Kevin Volland. The German threatened to shoot with his left and then curled in with his right foot to conclude a magnificent team move.

Early in the second half (47') Gelson Martins doubled the visitors' lead. Djibril Sidibé won his aerial battle with Rémi Oudin and found Aurélien Tchouaméni, who released the Portuguese international to put the match beyond the hosts. Monaco goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte (65') saved from Bordeaux substitute Nicolas De Préville. Any lingering hopes Bordeaux had were ended when midfielder Tom Lacoux (78') was sent off for a second yellow card. It was another tough day for Les Girondins, who lost Laurent Koscielny to injury in the first half (24').

Stevan Jovetic replaced Ben Yedder with 25 minutes to play and the Montenegrin (90') became the latest Monaco substitute to help himself to a goal. The forward headed home a Sofiane Diop cross to make it four straight wins fro Monaco by a margin of three goals or more. Monaco have scored 15 goals through substitutes this season.

THE PLAYER: Kevin Volland

Having missed the win over Dijon through illness, the German was recalled by Kovac and picked up where he'd left off in scoring against Metz in Round 31. The forward's first-half goal at Matmut Atlantique took him to 15 Ligue 1 Uber Eats goals for the season, two behind club top scorer Ben Yedder, and bolstered the former Bayer Leverkusen player's case for being considered signing of the season.

THE STAT: 10

Bordeaux have managed only 10 points in 14 games in the second half of the season. Only bottom club Dijon (4) have taken fewer points.

Elsewhere, Lens were held to a 1-1 draw at Brest, Gaël Kakuta (72' pen.) cancelling out Jean Lucas' opener (37') direct from a corner. Three players, including Lucas, were sent off. Lens are a point ahead of sixth-placed Marseille.

Dijon back to winning ways at last

Bottom club Dijon won for the first time since December 23 and ended a 12-match losing run as they saw off Nice 2-0 with the goals scored by Fouad Chafik and Yassine Benzia. Nîmes failed to climb out of the bottom three as Strasbourg's Dimitri Liénard equalised Renaud Ripart's opener for the home team. Reims and Metz played out a 0-0 draw.

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