(Reuters) – AS Monaco provisionally climbed to second place in Ligue 1 after goals from Denis Zakaria and Aleksandr Golovin earned them a 2-0 victory at home against Brest on Sunday.
Brest thought they had taken an early lead when Jeremy Le Douaron tapped in a cross, but the effort was chalked off after a VAR check for a previous foul.
Monaco broke the deadlock when Zakaria headed home from a corner after 16 minutes.
Both teams were aggressive and found the net in quick succession around the half-hour mark, but both goals were denied for offside.
Golovin was left unmarked after 69 minutes to double Monaco’s lead, receiving a cross inside the box and skilfully placing his finish into the top corner.
Brest hit the woodwork twice, and defender Lilian Brassier was sent off after receiving his second yellow card for a foul in the dying moments of the match.
Monaco are second with 23 points, one behind Paris St Germain. Nice are third with 22 points and host Stade Rennais later on Sunday.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Toby Davis)
