Monaco stays up despite final-day defeat at Nice

Monaco retained its top-flight status despite losing 2-0 at Riviera rival Nice on the final day of the French league campaign.

Two years after making it to the Champions League semifinals, the Principality team slumped to an 18th defeat in 38 matches on Friday to end up fourth from bottom.

Monaco, champions in 2017, finished two points above Dijon, which needs to win a playoff to remain among the elite next season after beating Toulouse 2-1.

Caen's slim hopes of staying up were dashed by a goal from Younousse Sankhare, who sealed a 1-0 win for visiting Bordeaux. Caen is relegated alongside bottom club Guingamp, which was already down and lost 2-1 at Amiens.

Runner-up to Paris Saint-Germain last term, Monaco suffered a woeful season highlighted by the firing and re-hiring of coach Leonardo Jardim, who returned after Thierry Henry failed in his first managerial post.

"The most important thing was to stay up," striker Radamel Falcao said. "Unfortunately we did not win, but we created many chances." PSG LOSES