Plus Montpellier climb to third and Toulouse draw with Angers
Saturday 22 September 2018 21:31, UK
Jonathan Ikone's thunderous strike earned Lille a 2-1 victory over Nantes on Saturday that sent them second in Ligue 1.
Portugal defender Jose Fonte scored his first Lille goal since joining from China's Dalian Yifang in July with a looping header on nine minutes at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Midfielder Ikone doubled Lille's lead with a magnificent goal on 68 minutes, taking a delightful first touch to control a high ball before unleashing a scorching, dipping 25-yard shot past Ciprian Tatarusanu.
Nantes grabbed a consolation through Kalifa Coulibaly as Lille, who finished just above the relegation play-off place last season, won for the fourth time in six games to draw to within two points of defending champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Montpellier climbed to third as Gaetan Laborde's first-half tap-in secured a 1-0 win over Patrick Vieira's Nice, while Toulouse are level on points in fourth following a 0-0 draw at Angers.
Thomas Tuchel's PSG visit Rennes on Sunday chasing a sixth win in a row in France, having lost 3-2 away to Liverpool in their opening game of the Champions League group stage in midweek.
Marseille would reclaim second with victory away to Lyon, although Bruno Genesio's side will hope their impressive 2-1 defeat of Manchester City in Europe can re-energise a flagging domestic campaign.
St Etienne secured their first victory in five league games as they beat Caen 2-1, Strasbourg notched their second win of the season, and first at home, as they beat Amiens 3-1, and Reims drew 0-0 at home against Dijon.
