Emegha fires Strasbourg past Lille in Ligue 1 / Photo: Frederick FLORIN - AFP
NYSE - LSE
Emegha fires Strasbourg past Lille in Ligue 1
Strasbourg captain Emanuel Emegha netted a brace as his side beat Lille 2-0 on Sunday to leapfrog their opponents into fourth spot in Ligue 1.
After missing Strasbourg's last five league outings with a thigh issue, Emegha returned with a bang. His goals either side of half-time lifted Liam Rosenior's team to 22 points, three behind league leaders Marseille.
Lille dropped to fifth after falling to their fourth defeat of the campaign, and now trail Strasbourg by two points.
Emegha gave the hosts the lead three minutes after the half-hour as he adjusted well to knee home Diego Moreira's cross which had just cleared the head of defender Nathan Ngoy.
A catastrophic backpass by French 2018 World Cup winner Olivier Giroud on 62 minutes sent Emegha through one-on-one and the 22-year-old made no mistake.
Elsewhere, Lorient and Toulouse played out a 1-1 draw in Brittany with both sides scoring from the penalty spot.
Metz beat Nice 2-1 as they climbed out of the relegation zone and into 14th spot.
Bottom-side Auxerre lounge three points from safety at the foot of the table after going down 2-0 at Angers, with 18-year-old Prosper Peter grabbing his third goal of the campaign.
Later, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain can reclaim top spot if they win at sixth-placed Lyon.
L.Bernasconi--GdR
