TheCable

Super Eagles captain, Vincent Enyeama, helped Lille wrestle a crucial away point against Monaco at the Stade Louis II on Friday.

The goalless draw was nonetheless enough to put Monaco provisionally top of the table.

The home team came into the game in high spirits, having eased past Switzerland’s BSC Young Boys 7-1 on aggregate in the UAFE Champions League third qualifying round before their opening weekend come-from-behind 2-1 win over OGC Nice.

Enyeama and his team, though, lost 1-0 to champions Paris St-Germain in their Ligue 1 opener.

Layvin Kurzawa, who got the winner against Nice, nearly created the opening goal inside two minutes of the game, but after a fine cross into the box Bernardo Silva sent a flying header just wide.

In the 13th minute, Nabil Dirar also came close to scoring after a chipped through-ball from Ivan Cavaleiro. But his shot was stopped by the outstretched leg of Enyeama.

For all of their first-half pressure, Monaco couldn’t break the deadlock, with Enyeama’s acrobatic save from Joao Moutinho’s top corner bound free-kick in the 44th minute summing up a frustrating first half for the hosts.

At the start of the second half, Lille came close to taking the lead.

In the 49th minute, Baptiste Guillaume burst past Fabinho and Andrea Raggi before firing at goal, but Danijel Subasic proved equal to the task.

At the other end, Ricardo Carvalho nearly grabbed his first goal since February 2011, but after meeting Cavaleiro’s cross he found the power but not the accuracy to beat Enyeama.

Lille coach, Herve Renard, the man who guided Cote d’Ivoire to victory at the last Africa Cup of Nations, threw caution to the wind for the final ten minutes. But it was the hosts who almost completed a smash-and-grab when Renato Civelli headed a Sofiane Boufal corner just wide in the 89th minute.

REMAINING LIGUE 1 WEEKEND FIXTURES

Saturday

Saint-Étienne v Bordeaux

Angers v Nantes

Guingamp v Olympique Lyonnais

Troyes v Nice

Caen v Toulouse

Rennes v Montpellier

Sunday

Reims v Olympique Marseille

Lorient v Bastia

PSG v Gazélec Ajaccio