Montpellier prevents Monaco's quest for Ligue 1 top spot

Montpellier HSC once again stopped a top-level team's quest for victory as they recorded a 1-1 draw against AS Monaco, who missed the chance to provisionally move to the top of the French football league standings.

Montpellier snapped Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) six-game winning streak with a 0-0 draw in their last league match, reports Xinhua news agency.

Monaco tied PSG with 19 points, while remaining second with an inferior goal difference. PSG will host FC Girondins de Bordeaux on Saturday.

Coming back from a 3-0 home loss against Porto in midweek's UEFA Champions League group match, Monaco made five changes to the starting line-up for Friday evening's match, with their goalkeeper Danijel Subasic back from injury.

Colombian striker Radamel Falcao was a lethal weapon for the Principality club again, as he snatched his 12th goal of the campaign in the 38th minute from Rony Lopes' right-flank cross.

Montpellier players maintained their confidence despite a one-goal deficit. They controlled the match for most of the time in the second half, before their effort paid off in the stoppage time.

Senegalese forward Souleymane Camara, 34, headed Kevin Berigaud's cross into the net two minutes into injury time, taking away one point for Montpellier.

--IANS

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