Nice's Champions League hopes hit by 3-0 loss to 10-man Lens
PARIS (AP) - Nice's Champions League hopes took a hit Sunday after a 3-0 defeat to 10-man Lens left the team fifth in the French league, five points behind Rennes and Marseille.
Lens was down to 10 players in the 17th minute when wing back Massadio Haidara was sent off for kicking Youcef Atal while attempting a clearance.
Unhappy with the referee's decision, Lens supporters threw projectiles onto the field, forcing stadium stewards to use a net in the 34th to protect Nice forward Amine Gouiri, who was taking a free kick.
Lens substitute Arnaud Kalimuendo scored against the run of play with a sliding effort in the 51st. Mali international Cheick Doucoure added a second goal by curling into the top corner in the 55th. Kalimuendo beat the offside trap to make it 3-0 in the 67th.
Nice itself finished with only nine players as Mario Lemina received a second yellow card for a foul on Doucoure in the 57th, and Brazilian center back Dante was red-carded for a scissor tackle on Kalimuendo in stoppage time.
'œWe conceded two goals with 11 men against 10 because we thought we no longer needed to defend and we didn't respect the game,'ť Nice coach Christophe Galtier told Canal Plus television. 'œWe played a Lens team made up of competitors, Lens played a Nice team made up of tourists.'ť
Lens climbed to eighth place, four points behind Nice and the Europa Conference League playoff spot.
Also Sunday, Strasbourg extended its unbeaten run to nine games to consolidate fourth place by drawing 1-1 with midtable Lyon.
Strasbourg striker Ludovic Ajorque knocked a high ball down for Ibrahima Sissoko, who capitalized on a defensive mix-up to slip the ball past Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes in the 20th. Cameroon winger Karl Toko Ekambi equalized in the 90th by converting a cross from Leo Dubois.
Strasbourg currently holds the Europa League spot but is just four points from the Champions League places. The team's best finish in the last 20 seasons was 10th in 2020.
Sixth-place Monaco edged Troyes 2-1 with goals from Caio Henrique and Kevin Volland to move within a point of the Europa Conference League playoff spot.
Lille drew 1-1 with Angers to lose ground in the race for European spots, trailing Monaco by two points. Angers took the lead with an own-goal from Lille defender Tiago Djalo in the 65th. But Kosovo winger Edon Zhegrova equalized with a long-range strike into the top corner in the 74th.
In the Brittany derby, Brest captain Brendan Chardonnet salvaged a 1-1 draw with Nantes by converting a rebound from a corner in the 67th. Randal Kolo Muani raised his tally to 12 league goals with a first-time effort to put Nantes ahead in the 11th. The game was suspended twice because supporters threw flares onto the field in the first half and the field was then invaded by supporters in the second half.
Bordeaux snapped a four-game goal drought to beat Metz 3-1 and move within two points of safety and a point off the relegation playoff spot.
Metz forward Didier Lamkel Ze nodded a cross from Nicolas de Preville into the bottom corner in the 21st. But Bordeaux rallied with goals from Portuguese wingback Ricardo Mangas in the 52nd, Senegal international M'Baye Niang in the 68th and South Korea striker Hwang Ui-jo in the 88th.
It was a third straight loss for Metz, which dropped to last place.
The 31st round ends later Sunday with Marseille vs. Montpellier.
On Saturday, Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Clermont 6-1 to extend its lead atop the league to 15 points while Rennes climbed to second place by edging Reims 3-2.
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