Monaco climbed to the top of the French Ligue 1 after Ismail Jakobs, Folarin Balogun, and Wissam Ben Yedder scored in a 3-1 victory against fourth-placed Reims on Saturday. Monaco took the lead just before halftime when defender Jakobs netted his first league goal after joining from Cologne in 2021 with a close-range shot. Forward Balogun doubled the lead for the visitors at the start of the second half with a stunning close-range strike, before Ben Yedder made it 3-0 with a header three minutes later.
Reims narrowed the gap with a penalty after midfielder Teddy Teuma scored a powerful shot past Monaco's goalkeeper Philippe Kauzlaric following a foul from Monaco substitute Christian Matsima against Marshall Munetsi. Monaco leads the league with 17 points from eight matches, one point ahead of Nice, who won 1-0 against Metz on Saturday. Midfielder Hicham Boudaoui scored Nice's only goal with his first touch from close range in the 14th minute. Nice remains unbeaten in the league with four wins and four draws.
Bottom-placed Olympique Lyon will seek their first league victory of the season when they host lowly Lorient on Sunday, after struggling Olympique Marseille faces newly promoted Le Havre. Third-placed Brest will meet the French Cup holders Toulouse before defending champions Paris Saint-Germain travel to face sixth-placed Stade Rennais.
