Montpellier scores late winner against Toulouse and moves off the bottom of French league

By Canadian Press on January 26, 2025.

PARIS (AP) — Striker Othmane Maamma came off the bench to score the decisive goal as Montpellier won 2-1 at Toulouse to move off the bottom of the French league on Sunday.

The 19-year-old Maamma headed in a pinpoint cross from creative midfielder Téji Savanier in the 83rd minute.

Midfielder Cristian Casseres gave Toulouse the lead in the 59th minute, but central defender Modibo Sagnan equalized three minutes later for Montpellier.

A second straight win put Montpellier into 17th place in the 18-team league and dropped Le Havre down to last.

Later Sunday, Marseille needed to win at Nice to close the gap on Ligue 1 leader Paris Saint-Germain to seven points.

Other results on a low-scoring day

Seventh-place Lens beat Angers 1-0 at home, with Facundo Medina setting up Poland winger Przemyslaw Frankowski for the only goal shortly after halftime.

Elsewhere, imposing striker Ludovic Ajorque found the net as eighth-place Brest won 1-0 at Le Havre, boosting team confidence before facing Real Madrid on Wednesday in the final league-phase game of the Champions League.

On a low-scoring day, striker Mostafa Mohamed grabbed a last-minute goal for Nantes in a 1-1 home draw with Lyon.

Forward Ernest Nuamah put Lyon ahead in the 10th when he turned in Argentina left back Nicolás Tagliafico’s first-time cross past former Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.

PSG remains unbeaten but was held to a 1-1 home draw by Reims on Saturday, with new star signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia setting up PSG’s goal on his debut. ___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Jerome Pugmire, The Associated Press