Monaco edged visiting Brest 1-0 on Sunday to start the Ligue 1 New Year by tightening their grip on fourth and closing in on a Champions League spot.

The French league normally takes the holiday season off but with matches to make up following the World Cup, it played one round immediately after Christmas and another on Sunday and Monday.

They have dubbed the games ‘Celebration Week’, in English, as a nod to the English tradition of Boxing Day games, but many fans are suspicious or hostile.

Among protest banners unfurled by fans in an almost empty stand at Nantes was one that complained that the league and broadcasters were “killing” them.

In Monaco, Aleksandr Golovin smashed in the only goal from outside the penalty area as the home team did just enough to win. They moved level with Marseille, who are third and visit Montpellier on Monday.

Read the full story on sportsdesk.com.mt...

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.