Lille stays level with Lyon in race for Champions League spot, Nice frustrates Marseille

PARIS (AP) — Matias Fernandez-Pardo’s first-half penalty on Sunday was enough for Lille to stay neck-and-neck with Lyon in Ligue 1’s race for a direct Champions League spot.

Pardo swept the spot kick inside the left post for Lille to beat Paris FC 1-0 away and end Antoine Kombouaré’s unbeaten start as coach since taking over at the Stade Jean-Bouin in February.

Kombouaré’s team pushed hard for an equalizer but had team captain Pierre Lees-Melou sent off late with his second yellow card after reacting badly to his first.

Paris FC was languishing in 15th place with 11 rounds remaining when Kombouaré took over but the experienced 62-year-old steered the team to survival last weekend with a 3-1 win at Metz that put it 13 points above the relegation zone with four rounds to play. Paris FC was taken over in 2024 by France’s richest family, the Arnaults of luxury empire LVMH.

With three rounds remaining, both third-placed Lyon and fourth-placed Lille have 57 points. Only the top three qualify directly for Europe’s premier club competition.

Marseille denied

Elye Wahi scored late with a perfectly taken “Panenka” penalty for Nice to thwart Marseille with a 1-1 draw for a point in its battle for survival.

Wahi, who scored two goals including a penalty in Nice’s French Cup semifinal win over Strasbourg on Wednesday, faced a hostile chorus of whistles from Marseille fans as he prepared to take the spot kick against his former side. Marseille goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli was booked for delaying the penalty before Wahi calmly chipped the ball in under the crossbar in the center of the goal for Nice’s equalizer in the 88th minute.

Nice goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf preserved the draw as Marseille pushed for the winner in a furious finale that ended with a futile penalty shout for the home side.

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg had scored Marseille’s goal with a diving header in the 66th.

The draw is another disappointment for Marseille after its loss at Lorient last weekend. Marseille stayed sixth, four points off the Champions League spots.

Nice moved five points above Auxerre in the relegation zone.

Rennes wins derby

Rennes defeated local rival Nantes 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time strike from team captain Valentin Rongier.

Rongier muted his celebrations out of respect for the club where he developed as a youth player before graduating to the senior team.

The win kept Rennes fifth, just a point behind Lille and Lyon, while Nantes is second from last in a direct relegation place.

Strasbourg fought back from two goals down and scored twice in stoppage time with Andrew Omobamidele getting the winner to stun Lorient with a 3-2 victory. Strasbourg next faces Spanish side Rayo Vallecano away in the first leg of their Conference League semifinal.

Last-placed Metz staved off relegation for another week at least with a 4-4 draw at Le Havre. Metz was heading toward the second tier until Gauthier Hein headed the visitors’ fourth equalizer of the match in the 85th minute.

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