Football: Advantage Montpellier as PSG crash at Nancy

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Football: Advantage Montpellier as PSG crash at Nancy

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The win lifted Nancy three places to 11th.

01 April,2012 04:02 pm

Yohan Mollo scored an 89th-minute goal to give Nancy a 2-1 win over title-chasing Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday and condemn Carlo Ancelotti to his first Ligue 1 defeat as PSG coach.After Mohamed Sissoko had cancelled out Bakaye Traores opener for the hosts, Mollo struck at the death to extend PSGs winless run to four games in all competitions and leave them behind Montpellier on goal difference at the summit.Montpellier are not in action this weekend, as their trip to Marseille has been pushed back to April 11 to allow OM to focus on the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final at Bayern Munich on Tuesday.The win lifted Nancy three places to 11th and means they have now beaten Lyon, Montpellier and PSG in the space of a month.We created lots of chances but we didnt score the second goal and we were punished right at the end, said PSG sporting director Leonardo, whose side welcome arch rivals Marseille to Parc des Princes next weekend.When you lose like that, its always difficult. But Im not worried. The war will last until the end and its difficult for everyone.Following successive draws against Caen and Bordeaux, as well as a French Cup loss to Lyon, Ancelotti made several changes to his side, with captain Mamadou Sakho and top scorer Nene notably relegated to the bench.There was no immediate change to PSGs fortunes, however, as Traore gave Nancy an 18th-minute lead by gathering Mollos square pass and poking the ball beyond Salvatore Sirigu.Nancy captain Andre Luiz rattled the PSG crossbar with a 22-yard curler moments later, while Sirigu had to save bravely at the feet of Traore 10 minutes before the interval.The visitors drew level in the 50th minute as stand-in skipper Sissoko met Sylvain Armands left-wing cross with an unerring downward header.PSG were transformed, with Guillaume Hoarau heading wide from Christophe Jallets lofted centre and then drawing a fine reflex stop from Guy NDy Assembe following another excellent cross from Jallet.NDy Assembe had to save from Jeremy Menez and Blaise Matuidi as the visitors pressed, but it was Nancy who claimed the three points when Mollo found the bottom-right corner with a low shot from 20 yards that narrowly eluded Sirigus dive.Earlier in the day, an 89th-minute strike by full-back Francois Clerc allowed Nice to snatch a 3-2 win at Saint-Etienne that prevented the home side from making ground on their rivals for European qualification.Clerc volleyed home at the back post from Renato Civellis flick-on, after Nice winger Anthony Mounier had equalised twice for the visitors.The defeat left Christophe Galtiers side three points behind fifth-placed Lyon in sixth place, while Nice climbed to 15th in the standings, a point above the relegation zone.Bordeaux are four points behind Saint-Etienne in eighth after substitute Thomas Guerbert scored in injury time - barely a minute after coming on - to earn Dijon a 1-1 draw at Stade Chaban Delmas.Bottom club Auxerre beat Valenciennes 2-0 to end a 12-game winless run and give Jean-Guy Wallemme his first victory since he replaced Laurent Fournier as coach.Auxerre are now just three points from safety, while Sochaux dragged Brest into trouble with a 2-1 home win over the Brittany side that enabled Eric Helys team to climb to 18th and draw level on points with their vanquished opponents.In the days other early game, Evian tightened their grip on 10th place by winning 1-0 at Lorient.Third-placed Lille host fourth-placed Toulouse on Sunday, while Lyon visit Rennes.