Lille Keep Pressure on Rennes in Champions League Race

Paris, Mar 9 (AFP) Rennes shook off their painful midweek French Cup semi-final exit to thrash Montpellier 5-0 in Ligue 1 on Sunday and maintain their one-point lead over Lille in the race for France's third and final Champions League spot.

Last season's Ligue 1 runners-up Lille kept the pressure on with a 1-0 win over Lyon.

Rennes left-back Faitout Maouassa struck the opener inside 10 minutes at Roazhon Park and Adrien Hunou doubled the lead for Rennes, whose French Cup title defence was ended Thursday by a 2-1 loss to Saint-Etienne.

Flavien Tait added a third for Rennes on 68 minutes before Romain Del Castillo converted a penalty. Hunou grabbed his second of the match from the spot late on to complete the rout.

Lille edged out in-form Lyon thanks to a first-half goal from Loic Remy.

The former Chelsea and Newcastle striker has now scored 11 goals in his last 18 appearances, having scored only three goals before that this season.

"We will continue our journey, our path," said Lille coach Christophe Galtier.

"It (the last part of the season) is a sprint and every match is going to be a fight."

Paris Saint-Germain's game at Strasbourg on Saturday was postponed due to fears over the coronavirus outbreak.

The decision was made after a number of people tested positive for COVID-19 in the Haut-Rhin region, which neighbours the Bas-Rhin region where Strasbourg is located.

It was the first Ligue 1 match to be called off because of the virus, which has infected 1,126 people in France and caused 19 deaths. (AFP)

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