Nigeria international Terem Moffi was on target but his goal could not help Lorient as they suffered a 2-1 Ligue 1 defeat against Reims at Stade du Moustoir on Sunday.
It was the away team who took a deserved lead in the 17th minute through Arber Zeneli before the 22-year-old Super Eagle levelled matters for Lorient in the 32nd minute. However, Mali international El Bilal Toure drilled home what turned out to be the winner in the 59th minute.
After a host of missed chances, Lorient were made to pay when Reims took the lead, Toure setting up Zeneli, who scored with a simple finish from close range past goalkeeper Matthieu Dreyer.
Moffi then put his side level, beating the offside trap before running down on goal and sneaking the ball with a simple finish past goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic. Reims regained their lead when Toure received a cross from another Mali international Kamory Doumbia before sliding his effort past the advancing Dreyer.
Moffi has now scored eight Ligue 1 goals this season and has been shown one yellow card. He opened his account for the top-flight against Monaco on August 13, scoring during a 1-0 victory.
Up next up for Lorient - who are in 16th position on 34 points - is Ligue 1 action is a home match against Olympique Marseille on May 8. Meanwhile, Mali left-back Youssouf Kone and Issa Kabore of Burkina Faso featured for Troyes as they registered a 3-0 victory against LOSC Lille at Stade de l’Aube.
Ironically, all the Troyes goals came from the penalty spot, Florian Tardieu converting in the 43rd and 86th minutes while Iko Ugbo scored in the 55th minute. Lille’s defeat was compounded further as two of their players - Renato Sanches and Burak Yılmaz – were sent off in the 50th and 68th minutes, respectively.
Elsewhere, Ivory Coast defender Abdoulaye Bamba scored into his own net as Monaco cruised to a 2-0 victory against Angers at Stade Louis II. Bamba’s own goal came in the 42nd minute before Wissam Ben Yedder sealed the game in the 61st minute.
The Angers line-up also featured Souleyman Doumbia from Ivory Coast, who was yellow-carded alongside his compatriot Ismael Traore. In another fixture, the Democratic Republic of Congo defender Vital N’Simba was yellow carded as Clermont Foot suffered a 2-0 defeat against Brest at Stade Francis-Le Ble.
It was Lilian Brassier who scored the opener for Brest in the 60th minute and two minutes later they doubled their lead when Benin international Steve Mounie found the back of the net.
Meanwhile, Cameroon international Ambroise Oyongo was also booked as Metz secured a 2-2 draw against Montpellier at Mosson Stadium. It was Arnaud Souquet and Elye Wahi, who scored for Montpellier in the game that saw Metz parade Senegal’s duo of Pape Matar Sarr, Boubakar Kouyate alongside Mali defender Boubacar Traore.
The Metz goals came via Thomas Delaine and Louis Mafouta of the Central African Republic.