Monaco’s floundering season has taken another turn for the worse after losing 2-1 at rock-bottom Montpellier in Ligue 1 and conceding third place to Lille

Monaco's slump in form continued on Friday ahead of their return to Champions League action as the principality club blew a lead to lose 2-1 away to Ligue 1's bottom club Montpellier.

Monaco suffered a painful 2-1 defeat against Montpellier, the bottom team in Ligue 1, on Friday, effectively ending their hopes of fighting for the league title. With 32 points in the standings, the monegasque team is 11 points behind PSG (with one game in hand) and just two points ahead of their pursuer,

Lille warmed up for next week's trip to Liverpool in the Champions League by coming from behind to beat Nice 2-1 on Friday and climb up to third place in Ligue 1 as they capitalised on Monaco's surprise defeat earlier.

Monaco's challenging Ligue 1 season deteriorated further with a 2-1 defeat against last-placed Montpellier, surrendering third place to Lille. Despite early advantage, Monaco's defense faltered in the second half.

Ligue 1 moves into Round 18, where Montpellier hosts AS Monaco in a clash of fortunes that go in totally different directions. While Monaco pursues European positions, Montpellier seeks to get out of the relegation places.

Monaco's floundering season took another turn for the worse as it lost at rock-bottom Montpellier 2-1 in Ligue 1 and conceded third place to Lille on Friday. Bruno Genesio's Lille extended its unbeaten run in all competitions to 21 games with a 2-1 home win against Nice to move one point above Monaco,