PARIS (AP) — Hakon Arnar Haraldsson scored his first brace in the French league as Lille beat Monaco 2-1 Saturday and leapfrogged its rival to move into third place in the standings.
Lille has 41 points, one more than Riviera rivals Nice and Monaco. Fourth-place Nice has one match in hand and takes on struggling Montpellier on Sunday.
Lille dominated early proceedings at the Pierre Mauroy stadium and was rewarded in the 22nd minute when Haraldsson broke the deadlock at the conclusion of a slick move.
The Iceland midfielder was set up by Ngal’ayel Mukau and rushed toward the goal unchallenged and scored with a precise shot from the edge of the area into the far corner.
Monaco reacted well and had a good chance to level near the half-hour mark when Eliesse Ben Seghir's attempt with the outside of the foot ended inches wide from Vanderson's low cross.
But Monaco continued its trend this season of making silly mistakes as a sloppy pass from Wilfred Singo to Denis Zakaria led to Lille's second goal. Under pressure in the box, Zakaria slid and gave the ball away, and Haraldsson pounced from the rebound after goalkeeper Radosław Majecki pushed away his first effort.
Haraldsson, who joined Lille in July 2023 from FC Copenhagen, has scored four league goals this season.
Takumi Minamino kept Monaco's hopes alive, though, when he pulled one back just before the interval. Krépin Diatta’s cross was met by Maghnes Akliouche, who headed the ball into the path of Mika Biereth. His clever back-heel found Minamino and the Japanese midfielder slotted home from close range.
Monaco, which exited the Champions League this week in a playoff loss to Benfica, has now failed to win any of its last six league matches away.
Auxerre ends Marseille's winning run
Second-place Marseille missed the chance to reduce the gap to runaway leader PSG by losing 3-0 at Auxerre.
Marseille had already lost the reverse fixture 3-1 in November.
Marseille was chasing a fourth consecutive win but was caught on the break and against the run of the play near the half-hour mark when Gaëtan Perrin cut back inside the box and beautifully curled the ball into the opposite corner.
The hosts were reduced to 10 men in the 63rd minute following Derek Cornelius' dismissal and conceded two more goals in the last 15 minutes. Brazilian defender Jubal scored both, including one from the spot. It was Auxerre's first win in almost three months.
PSG can extend its lead over Marseille to 13 points if it wins at Lyon on Sunday.
Dieng scores late equalizer, tempers fray
Angers forward Bamba Dieng snatched a stoppage time equalizer at struggling Saint-Etienne in a 3-3 draw. Himad Abdelli scored Angers' first two goals, including the opener from the spot in the seventh minute.
Saint-Etienne's Irvin Cardona also scored twice. His 74th-minute effort when left unmarked at the near post put the hosts in front, until Farid El Melali was fouled in the box and Dieng beat Gautier Larsonneur from the spot to secure a point.
Tempers frayed at the final whistle as coaches from both teams grappled with each other while players and members of staff scuffled.
Saint-Etienne remained in 16th place in the 18-team league, eight points behind Angers.
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The Associated Press
