Lille up to third, Garcia's Lyon rout nine-man Nimes

Paris (AFP) – Nigerian Victor Osimhen’s first half goal earned Lille a 1-0 win over Brest and third place in Ligue 1 on Friday behind Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain.

The 20-year-old forward struck in the 17th minute with a clinical finish to Jonathan Ikone’s back pass leaving Gautier Larsonneur little chance for his ninth goal of the season.

The young Brest keeper went on to deny Jonathan Bamba’s injury time spot kick.

Lille largely dominated the encounter to overtake Bordeaux into third on 28 points, three behind Marseille with PSG in control on 36 points.

Later, Lyon claimed a 4-0 win over bottom-club Nimes who were reduced to nine-man with red cards dished out to Theo Valls in the fifth minute and Gaetan Pacquiez before the break.

Memphis Depay’s 16th minute penalty started the rout and the former Manchester United forward doubled up after the hour mark, with Houssem Aouar and Joachim Andersen completing a good night’s work for the former multiple champions who jumped to provisional fifth.

New manager Rudi Garcia’s arrival in October, when he replaced Sylvinho, has sparked a revival for the side which was only one point above the relegation zone when he took over.

PSG are at Montpellier on Saturday with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe both fit after injuries.

Off-field issues prevented the world’s two most expensive players from starting a game together this season until the 2-0 midweek win over Nantes.