Ten-man Lille back in European mix with 1-0 win at Nantes

Ten-man Lille battled to a 1-0 victory at Nantes on Saturday to work their way back into contention for European action next season while keeping a clean sheet for the sixth consecutive Ligue 1 game.

Three days after their Champions League Round of 16 exit to reigning champions Chelsea, Lille did not enjoy a strong start. But they scored the winner five minutes before the break with an Amadou Onana close-range tap-in after a save by Nantes keeper Alban Lafont.

Jonathan David should have doubled their lead right after the restart but he was beaten in a one-on-one by Lafont.

The visitors went down to 10 men when Timothy Weah was sent off for a rough challenge on Samuel Moutoussamy just past the hour.

Nantes, who did not have a scoring chance until then, saw Pedro Chirivella hit the left post with his low drive before the ball ran along the goal and bounced away off the right post in the 67th as the hosts came agonisingly close to an equaliser.

Lille move up to sixth on 46 points while Nantes, with their second straight loss, dropped to eighth on 42.