Monaco beats Guingamp 3-2 to boost Champions League hopes

Monaco moved provisionally ahead of Lyon in pursuit of automatic Champions League qualification, with a 3-2 victory over Guingamp in the French league.

Monaco is second, three points ahead of Lyon, which hosts relegation-threatened Ajaccio later.

The team which finishes second will join champion Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League group stage, while the third-place team enters the competition at the third qualifying round.

Lacina Traore and Nabil Dirar gave Monaco a comfortable halftime lead before Mevlut Erding got Guingamp back in the match but Bernardo Silva restored his side's two-goal cushion.

Benjamin Angoua scored Guingamp's second nine minutes from time to set up a nervous finish for the home side, but Monaco held on for what could prove to be crucial points.

Earlier, Nice and Saint-Etienne saw their Champions League hopes diminish. Nice lost 1-0 at Nantes, while Saint-Etienne could only manage a 0-0 draw against Toulouse.

Saint-Etienne, which had captain Loic Perrin sent off late on, moved into fourth place thanks to goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier, who saved a fifth-minute penalty from Wissam Ben Yedder.

Toulouse, which also had two first-half goals ruled out for offside, remained in the relegation zone. It is three points from safety with two rounds remaining.

Saint-Etienne is four points behind Monaco. Nice is a point further back, following Adrien Thomasson's winner for Nantes, which also hit the woodwork three times. Lille is just a point behind Nice after winning 1-0 at Lorient.

Reims remained a point from safety, losing 3-2 against Montpellier with four of the five goals coming in the final seven minutes.

Already-relegated Troyes lost 4-2 at home to Bordeaux, while Bastia drew 0-0 at Caen.