Monaco top Ligue 1 after victory at Reims, Nice beat Metz
Last updated on: 08 October,2023 12:13 pm
Monaco lead the standings on 17 points from eight games, one point ahead of second-placed Nice
PARIS (Reuters) – AS Monaco moved top of Ligue 1 after Ismail Jakobs, Folarin Balogun and Wissam Ben Yedder scored in a 3-1 win at fourth-placed Reims on Saturday.
Monaco took the lead just before halftime when defender Jakobs netted from close range for his first Ligue 1 goal since he joined the club from Cologne in 2021.
Striker Balogun doubled the lead for the visitors early in the second half with a fine finish from close range before Wissam Ben Yedder made it 3-0 with a header three minutes later.
Reims pulled a goal back from the penalty spot when midfielder Teddy Teuma sent an unstoppable shot past Monaco keeper Philipp Koehn after Monaco substitute Christian Matsima fouled Marshall Munetsi.
Monaco lead the standings on 17 points from eight games, one point ahead of second-placed Nice and three above Brest who have a game in hand.
Nice provisionally moved top of the table when they claimed a 1-0 win at Metz through midfielder Hicham Boudaoui, who scored with his first touch from close range in the 14th minute.
They remained unbeaten in the league with four wins and four draws.
Bottom-placed Olympique Lyonnais will seek their first league win of the season when they host lowly Lorient on Sunday after struggling Olympique de Marseille take on promoted Le Havre.
Third-placed Brest face French Cup winners Toulouse before champions Paris St Germain visit sixth-placed Stade Rennais.