Goals from Ismaël Jakobs, Folarin Balogun and Wissam Ben Yedder helped AS Monaco beat Stade de Reims (3-1) and return to the top of Ligue 1. OGC Nice had dethroned them earlier in the day with victory over FC Metz.
Jakobs gave Monaco the lead just before half-time after latching onto a deflected cross at the back-post. The Principality club had then seized control after the break. Folarin Balogun’s deflected effort wrong-footed Yehvann Diouf within seconds of the restart. Facing his former club for the first time, the USMNT forward chose not to celebrate.
Jakobs, who started the scoring, then found Ben Yedder with a pin-point cross in the 49th minute to essentially secure the three points. Chrislain Matsima’s clumsy tackle in the box gave Reims a route back into the match, and whilst Teddy Teuma slotted home the resulting penalty, Reims couldn’t make up the deficit.
Monaco therefore overtake Nice and take back top spot, and regardless of results elsewhere, they will retain that place until after the international break.
