Falcao repays in Monaco's Ligue 1 title race, Lyon stunned by Lorient

Radamel Falcao's return to the starting line-up paid off in Monaco's 1-0 away victory over in-form Angers, moving them four points clear in Ligue 1 football championship's top position, while Lyon were shocked by Lorient 4-1.

Having their eyes on next week's Champions League quarter-finals first leg against Borussia Dortmund in Germany, Monaco head coach Leonardo Jardim on Saturday made several changes to the starting XI. It was Falcao's first appearance as a starter during the past six weeks, and he celebrated his comeback from a hip injury with a goal just around the hour-mark, reports Xinhua news agency.

In the 61st minute, Falcao collected Nabil Dirar's cutting pass from the right to stab into the net, his 17th league goal of the season.

Monaco footballers could get a huge boost in their confidence ahead of clash against Dortmund as they extended their unbeaten run to 13 games in the league.

"Falcao is a great player, and he can contribute to the team on both offensive and defensive ends," commented Jardim, adding that it was difficult for the team to recover in just two days for another big match.

Lyon went up on newly-selected French international Corentin Tolisso's goal in the 28th minute, but Lorient bounced back strongly as Majeed Waris and Sylvain Marveaux scored before the interval and early in the second half respectively.

Benjamin Moukandjo, who captained Cameroon in Africa Cup of Nations victory early this year, had a brace to set his league goal of the season at 12.

It was the first time that Lorient have secured home and away wins against Lyon in the same season. After tasting three wins in a row, Lorient moved up from the bottom two for the first time since last October.

In other matches, Bordeaux eased past Metz 3-0, Caen lost to Montpellier 0-2, Dijon lost to Bastia 1-2, and Nancy beat Rennes 3-0.

--IANS

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