Ligue one title contenders Lille failed to go on level points with Paris St. Germain after settling for a 1-1 draw with Olympique Lyonnais.

Lille missed out on a chance to go level on points with table toppers Paris Saint-Germain when they played a 1-1 home draw with 10-man Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday.

Lille player, Jonathan Bamba saw his opening goal cancelled out by Mehmet Zeki Celik’s own goal before the halftime break, and Lille failed to make the most of Marcelo’s red card in the 50th minute.

They are placed at second position with 19 points, two points behind PSG who thrashed Nantes 3-0 away on Saturday, while Lyon still stays on sixth position with 14 points.

Monaco went up four spots to move to eighth position with 14 points, after two superb goals by German striker Kevin Volland earned them a 4-0 home win against Girondins de Bordeaux earlier on Sunday. Niko Kovac’s men are starting to find their feet the French topflight after a poor campaign last season.

In the Lille and Lyon game, Bamba for the first goal with a splendid 20-metre shot. That was his fourth goal in nine Ligue one matches after being set up by Burak Yilmaz.

But Lyon equalized four minutes before the halftime break when Houssem Aouar’s attempt took a deflection off Celik’s chest and entered into the Lille net.

Lyon found themselves in a pickle early in the second half. They went down to 10 men when Marcelo was sent off for a second yellow card after he stepped on Bamba’s ankle, but the hosts struggled to put a goal past the visitors throughout the rest of the game.

Bamba came close to scoring in the second half, but Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes parried his shot away before stopping Yusuf Yazici’s effort.

Meanwhile, in other Ligue one games played yesterday, Reims defeated Strasbourg 2-1, Nimes lost 0-1 at home to Metz, and Dijon drew 0-0 with Lorient.

Nice moved to fourth on 17 points following their 3-0 victory at Angers.

Written by: Collins Nwokolo