Villeneuve-d’Ascq (France) (AFP) – Lille continued their perfect start to the new year by thrashing Nice, 4-0, in Ligue 1 on Friday for a sixth straight victory in 2019 that tightened their grip on second.
Lille took the lead with a goal by Rafael Leao in the seventh minute. Nicolas Pepe rolled the ball into the corner of the net in the 37th minute for his 16th league goal of the season, second only to Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain.
Jonathan Bamba and Loic Remy, deep into added time, doubled the lead in the second half.
“It’s obvious that we are in a good rhythm,” said Lille manager Christophe Galtier.
Lille are 10 points behind PSG who have three games in hand, but are six ahead of Lyon.
“Creating some points gaps on Friday night can put some pressure on others,” Galtier said.
Lyon and PSG meet on Sunday.
A nightmare evening for Nice turned even worse when Pierre Lees-Melou was sent off in the 89th minute.
Nice stay seventh.
