Reims and Montpellier draw, Nancy soars in thrilling match at Rodez

Reims and Montpellier, the two challengers to Saint-Étienne’s lead in Ligue 2, failed to separate on Friday night in matchday 7 (1-1). Nordan Mukiele opened the scoring as early as the 7th minute for the visiting Hérault side, before Yaya Fofana, in fine form, equalized in the 33rd for the Champagne club.

Both teams remain provisionally on the podium, but they were unable to extend their lead over their direct rivals. Annecy, who could have capitalized, itself fell to Dijon (1-2), leaving the door open for Nancy to pull off the night’s best result.

The Nancy side snatched a spectacular victory on Rodez’s pitch (3-4) in a seven-goal thriller, climbing into the upper half of the table. Pau also picked up three points by beating Dunkerque (2-0), consolidating their ambitions in the race for promotion places.

In the lower half of the standings, Grenoble and Clermont shared the spoils (1-1), while Laval drew with Sochaux (1-1). The point earned by Laval allows them to leave the bottom spot, now occupied by FC Nantes ahead of their trip to Boulogne on Saturday.