Dante breaks duck and Nice losing streak

Paris (AFP) – Nice captain Dante scored his first Ligue 1 goal for the club in a 1-1 draw with Claudio Ranieri’s Nantes on Sunday to snap a four-match losing run.

The result bumped Nantes back up to fifth, while Mario Balotelli’s Nice — who lost 3-2 to Lokomotiv Moscow in the Europa League on Thursday — are ninth after halting their recent slide.

Nantes goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu had a busy and effective afternoon but Dante got a toe to a loose ball in a scramble to give last season’s third-place finishers a fifth-minute lead at the Allianz Riviera.

The 34-year-old Dante joined Nice from Wolfsburg in 2016 and this was his first strike for them in 55 league games.

The equaliser for Ranieri’s visitors came courtesy of an Emiliano Sala penalty on 27 minutes as the Argentine striker netted his 11th goal of the campaign.

Atlantic coast outfit Nantes appointed Ranieri, who won the Premier League with Leicester, just ahead of the current campaign when Sergio Conceicao quit to join Porto.

Runaway leaders PSG defeated Strasbourg 5-2 on Saturday, while second-placed Monaco thumped Dijon 4-0 on Friday with Marseille and Lyon both in action later Sunday.