Monaco tighten grip on second spot with 4-1 win over struggling Clermont

MONACO : Wissam Ben Yedder's brace helped AS Monaco strengthen their hold on second place in Ligue 1 with a 4-1 home win over relegation battling Clermont on Saturday, leaving the visitors rooted to the bottom of the table.

Monaco are on 61 points with two games remaining, nine behind Paris St Germain who have already secured the league title, and five ahead of Brest who host Nantes later on Saturday. They are guaranteed to finish in the top four.

The hosts opened the scoring in the 16th minute when a headed clearance fell to Takumi Minamino who had time to tee up his shot from outside the area before curling the ball into the top corner.

Clermont levelled after 34 minutes, with Muhammed Cham tapping home from close range but Monaco were back in front three minutes later when Breel Embolo hit a first time shot to the far corner from a Ben Yedder pass.

Monaco extended their lead 12 minutes after the break. Minamino's ball into the area was mis-hit by defender Andy Pelmard leaving Ben Yedder with the easy task of firing past the keeper. Ben Yedder netted again three minutes from time.

The result means Clermont stay bottom on 25 points, four behind Metz in the relegation playoff place. A win for Metz over Rennes on Saturday would condemn Clermont to Ligue 2.