Monaco wins 1-0 at Reims in French league
PARIS (AP) - Bernardo Silva scored to give Monaco its first league victory in a month with a 1-0 win at Reims while struggling Marseille ended a seven-match winless run on Sunday.
Monaco got off to a strong start and dominated throughout with attractive attacking football to extend its unbeaten run in all competitions to 10 matches.
On the verge of crisis, Marseille bounced back with a 2-1 win at Lille with goals from Michy Batshuayi and Romain Alessandrini. Reims defender Sebastien Corchia ensured a nervy finish by pulling one back in the 71st minute but Marseille keeper Steve Mandanda made two decisive saves in a stirring final 10 minutes.
Marseille's first win in six league games - its first away victory this season - lifted the nine-time champions four points above the relegation zone.
With eight goals in 11 weeks, Batshuayi is now the league's top scorer ahead of Nice's Hatem Ben Arfa. The Belgium striker scored from the rebound after Alessandrini's attempt from Lucas Silva's superb lofted ball hit the right post in the 37th minute.
"This is a great win, we were in an emergency situation and we needed the points," said Alessandrini, who doubled Marseille's lead with a shot from the edge of the box into the top left corner. "We proved that we can be united, score goals and win. This is a great relief, and hopefully this is just the beginning."
At Reims, Silva scored his third goal of the season in the 11th minute with a header from close range off Guido Carrillo's cross as Monaco moved to eighth place, nine points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain, which hosted Saint-Etienne in a late game.
After a good start to the season, Reims slumped to a third straight loss that left the Champagne side lagging two points behind Monaco in 11th.
"I'm only interested in winning points for my team," said goalkeeper Johny Placide, who made a series of saves but was powerless to block Silva's header. "These three consecutive losses are annoying. We are lacking aggressiveness."
Monaco could have added a couple of goals before the interval but Carillo hit the woodwork twice in the first half and Placide thwarted a fine volley from former France midfielder Jeremy Toulalan.
Placide was decisive again to deny Nabil Dirar's 20-meter effort in the 66th minute and the Reims goalkeeper won another one-on-one with the midfielder 10 minutes later.
Reims was reduced to 10 men in the 68th after Antoine Devaux was sent off for a second yellow card. The hosts played better after Devaux's dismissal and their best chance came in added time. Jordan Siebatcheu fired a low shot onto Danijel Subasic's post after taking advantage of a bad clearance from the Monaco defense.
Also, teenager Adam Ounas scored the lone goal as Bordeaux moved six points clear of the relegation zone with a 1-0 win over last-place Troyes.