PARIS — Kader Bamba came off the bench to score an injury-time winner as Nantes won 1-0 at Le Havre on Sunday, securing a vital win in its battle to avoid relegation from the French league.
Bamba cut inside from the left wing and hit a low shot from the edge of the penalty area in the third minute of stoppage time.
Storied club Nantes has won the league title eight times but narrowly avoided relegation last year and in 2021. Coach Antoine Kombouaré has saved the club before and was re-hired to do so again, despite very public differences of opinion between him and club president Waldemar Kita.
Kita said he was willing to put those aside because he respects Kombouaré’s ability to motivate players and hold a dressing room together.
It seems to be working.
Kombouaré has won two of three league games since returning and Nantes is now up to 14th place in the 18-team league, with five matches remaining.
The bottom two go down and the 16th-place side goes into a relegation-promotion playoff. Le Havre was promoted last season and is in 15th place.
Also, rock-bottom Clermont drew 1-1 with Montpellier.
Austria midfielder Muhammed Cham put Clermont ahead from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time, but Tanguy Coulibaly equalized in the 56th minute for 13th-place Montpeller, which moved closer to safety.
Later, Brest looked to consolidate its grip on second place with a win at Lyon.
Runaway leader Paris Saint-Germain is not playing this weekend as it prepares to face Barcelona in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday.