Lyon’s Memphis Depay scores their third goal and completes his hat-trick, in the Ligue 1 match between Olympique Lyonnais and OGC Nice, at Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France, on Saturday May 19, 2018. Photo: Reuters
PARIS: Memphis Depay scored a hat trick as Lyon came from behind to beat Nice 3-2 and qualify for the Champions League at the expense of Marseille in the French league on Saturday.
Lyon, which had a one-point lead over Marseille ahead of the last round, kept its lead intact and finished in third place behind Paris Saint-Germain and deposed champion Monaco. The first three teams in the French league qualified for the Champions League.
“Lots of joy tonight, everybody was very focused and motivated,” said Lyon forward Nabil Fekir, who is widely expected to leave the club this summer. “It caps an exceptional season.”
Alassane Plea scored Nice’s goals.
Depay scored all three goals in the second half.
Nice coach Lucien Favre confirmed he will leave the club in the offseason.
MARSEILLE MISS OUT
After losing the Europa League final to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, Marseille missed out on the Champions League for the second time despite beating Amiens 2-1.
“We had a superb season but our efforts did not pay off,” Marseille top striker Florian Thauvin said.
Marseille ended fourth and will play the Europa League next season alongside Rennes and Bordeaux.
LOPES SCORES TWICE
Monaco won at Troyes 3-0 and finished runner-up, 13 points behind PSG, which drew at Caen 0-0. The goalless draw guaranteed Caen stayed in the topflight while Troyes was demoted to the second division.
Monaco needed just one point to qualify for the Champions League but made sure it finished runner-up with a win. The Principality side was in complete control as Rony Lopes scored twice and Jordi Mboula sealed Troyes’ fate in added time.
Troyes finished 19th and joined last-place Metz in the second division.
Toulouse, which beat Guingamp 2-1, will have to win a playoff against a second-division club to remain in the topflight.
Elsewhere, Italian coach Claudio Ranieri won his last game in charge of mid-table Nantes, 1-0 over Strasbourg.
WEAH FIRST START
In the absence of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe, PSG coach Unai Emery gave Timothy Weah — George Weah’s 18-year-old son — his first start in Caen.
Caen finished the season with only 27 goals, the worst total since Arles-Avignon was demoted with 21 in 2011.
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Written by Siddhartha Pokharel
This news first appeared on https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/monaco-lyon-qualify-for-champions-league-from-ligue-1/ under the title “Monaco, Lyon qualify for Champions League from Ligue 1”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
