Monaco consolidate second spot with 4-1 win over lowly Clermont, while Brest draw at Nantes

Wissam Ben Yedder's brace helped AS Monaco maintain second place in Ligue 1 with a 4-1 home victory over relegation-threatened Clermont on Saturday, leaving the visitors at the bottom of the table.

Monaco have 61 points with two games remaining, nine behind Paris St Germain, who have already won the league, and four ahead of Brest, who drew 0-0 against Nantes on Saturday.

Brest, who have qualified for Europe for the first time, are desperate for a top-four finish to earn a Champions League spot. They are third with 57 points, two points ahead of Lille, who face Olympique Lyonnais on Monday.

Monaco took the lead in the 16th minute when a headed clearance fell to Takumi Minamino, who had time to tee up his shot from outside the area before curling it into the top corner.

Clermont drew level after 34 minutes when Muhammed Cham scored from close range, but Monaco regained the lead three minutes later when Breel Embolo hit a first-time shot to the far corner off a Ben Yedder pass.

Monaco extended their lead 12 minutes after halftime. Minamino's ball into the area was mishit by defender Andy Pelmard, leaving Ben Yedder with an easy task of shooting past the keeper. Ben Yedder then scored again three minutes from time.

Clermont are at the bottom of the table with 25 points, four behind Metz, who lost 3-2 to Rennes on Saturday.

Metz, who dropped to 16th place, could have condemned Clermont to Ligue 2 relegation, but were unable to defeat Rennes at home thanks to Arnaud Kalimuendo's last-minute goal in stoppage time.

Lorient, with 26 points, remain in the relegation zone after losing 2-0 to Lens on Friday.

SportsLigue