Nice defeat leaves Lyon 10 points behind leaders PSG

PARIS (Reuters) – Olympique Lyonnais fell 10 points adrift of leaders Paris St German when they slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Nice on Friday.

Strikes by Valere Germain and Vincent Koziello, with an own goal in between by Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, gave the hosts all three points as Nice moved up to third in the Ligue 1 standings with 24 points from 14 games.

Lyon are second on 25 points, 10 points behind PSG who travel to Lorient on Saturday (1600GMT/12 PM ET).

The French national anthem was played before kickoff as the crowd paid tribute to the 130 who died in last week’s Paris attacks.

Germain flicked the ball past Anthony Lopes in the 20th minute to put the hosts ahead in a lively encounter at the Allianz Riviera.

Three minutes into the second half, Yanga-Mbiwa deflected Jeremy Pied’s cross into his own net, giving Nice an almost unassailable lead.

In the 71st minute, Pied sent a cross into the path of Koziello, who fired home with a fine half volley to rub salt into the visitors’ wounds.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Rex Gowar)