Monaco and US striker Balogun mounting Champions League challenge in Ligue 1

Monaco was unstoppable in Ligue 1 before the international break and now a Champions League spot is within reach.

The Principality side has swept its last six matches and is on a nine-match unbeaten run ahead of Sunday’s reception of third-placed Marseille. Victory would see Monaco move level on points with its southern rival in the French standings.

This is quite the turnaround for Sébastien Pocognoli’s players, who trailed Marseille by 14 points at the end of January.

Pocognoli guided Union Saint-Gilloise to the Belgian league title last season and intially struggled to adapt on the Riviera. His attacking approach, intense pressing and astute substitutions are, however, finally paying off.

Add to that Folarin Balogun’s excellent recent form — seven goals in his last seven matches in all competitions — and sixth-placed Monaco is a strong contender for a top-three Champions League spot. The fourth-placed team goes through qualifying.

“Several teams are ahead of us, so we are in pursuit, applying pressure from our underdog position,” Pocognoli said. “This is a consequence of the difficult spell we endured from November through to January. We aim to claw our way up a few more spots in the standings before the season concludes.”

Key matchups

It’s a close fight at the top of the standings between defending champion Paris Saint-Germain and second-placed Lens. With seven rounds left, PSG has a one-point lead with one match in hand.

PSG hosts Toulouse on Friday and Lens facing a tricky trip to its northern neighbor Lille on Saturday. Lens was infuriated by a decision last week from the French league to postpone its April 11 game with PSG and questioned sporting equity. The league took the decision to allow PSG better preparation for its Champions League quarterfinal against Liverpool.

Player to watch

Maghnes Akliouche scored and was decisive for Monaco before the international break. He built on the momentum during France’s short tour in the United States. The creative midfielder played 10 minutes during France’s 2-1 win against Brazil and started in the 3-1 defeat of Colombia. Akliouche also impressed with his tactical decisions and an assist to Marcus Thuram.

Out of action

The international break dealt a terrible blow to Strasbourg’s ambitions. The Alsatian club lost Argentina forward Joaquín Panichelli, who tore his right ACL during training with his national team. The injury ruled him out to the end of the season. Panichelli has emerged as a new star in Ligue 1 after joining from Spanish side Deportivo Alaves. He is the league top scorer this season with 16 goals.

Off the pitch

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The highest Ligue 1 wages were published by sports daily L’Equipe on Thursday. Unsurprisingly, PSG remained at the top with an average gross salary of 650,000 euros ($749,000) per player. PSG’s payroll remained stable with an increase of 3,000 euros per player compared to the previous season.

According to L’Equipe, Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé was the highest-paid player in Ligue 1, reportedly earning 1.5 million euros gross per month.

Runner-up to PSG, Marseille paid an average gross monthly salary of 300,000 euros, which was 50,000 more than last season. Monaco completed the podium with 140,000 euros. Lens ranked only 10th with an average of 80,000 euros per player.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer