France round-up: Monaco open up three-point gap
Tuesday, February 4, 2003
Article summary
AS Monaco FC's 2-0 win against fourth-placed Olympique Lyonnais helped them move clear at the top.
Article body
AS Monaco FC edged clear of the pack at the top of Ligue 1 after a 2-0 win against fourth-placed Olympique Lyonnais helped them open up a three-point lead.
Unbeaten run
The home side, coached by Didier Deschamps, extended their unbeaten run to ten matches after goals from Croatian striker Dado Prso in the 30th minute and Shabani Nonda just after the hour. Prso took advantage of a mistake by Brazilian defender Edmilson to beat goalkeeper Grégory Coupet.
Injured Coupet
In the 65th minute Nonda doubled the advantage by outsprinting defender Jean-Marc Chanelet to slot a neat Rafael Marquez cross past substitute goalkeeper Nicolas Puydebois, who had replaced the injured Coupet shortly after the restart. Nonda's strike, his 13th of the season, took him level with FC Girondins de Bordeaux's Pauleta at the top of the goalscoring charts.
Wednesday games
Monaco can be caught on points on Wednesday by both OGC Nice and Olympique de Marseille, who play ES Troyes Aube Champagne and Le Havre AC respectively, but should stay top thanks to their much bigger goal difference. Deschamps's side have conceded just four goals from their last ten outings.