PARIS (AP) — Monaco moved up to fourth place in the French league after winning 1-0 at home to Brest on Sunday, with Russia midfielder Alexandr Golovin scoring in the 54th minute after combining with midfielder Mohamed Camara.
League leader Paris Saint-Germain faced its toughest test of the season later Sunday at second-place Lens, which has won every home game so far this season. PSG was missing Neymar, through suspension, and World Cup winner Lionel Messi, who is returning to training early next week after an extended stay back home in Argentina.
Monaco coach Philippe Clement made a bold choice selecting 17-year-old Eliesse Ben Seghir over established striker Wissam Ben Yedder, the club’s top scorer for the past three seasons.
“Eliesse started the game because he deserves it. He brought a lot of energy to the team,” Clement said. “What’s important is not a player’s age but what he shows on the field.”
Ben Seghir made a sensational league debut in midweek, coming off the bench to score twice — including a Kylian Mbappé-style curling winner — to help Monaco win 3-2 at Auxerre.
Monaco is level on points with third-place Marseille, which plays at Montpellier on Monday.
OTHER MATCHES
Lyon paid the price for poor defending when it lost 1-0 at home to Clermont, with midfielder Muhammed Cham scoring a penalty with three minutes left. The win moved Clermont into ninth place and two points behind Lyon in eighth.
Rock-bottom Angers had hopes of victory after taking a 10th-minute lead through striker Abdallah Sima, but Lorient equalized in the 79th when Sima turned Enzo Le Fée’s corner into his own net. Le Fée then hit a thumping shot for the 2-1 winner as Lorient moved up to sixth spot.
Toulouse won 2-0 against Corsican side Ajaccio, thanks to second-half goals from Rafael Ratao and captain Brecht Dejaegere.
Substitute Marcus Coco scored the winner in the 74th minute as Nantes beat Auxerre 1-0 to pull clear of the relegation zone.
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