PARIS — With the club’s strikers failing to score, midfielder Pierre Lees-Melou’s goal earned fifth-place Nice a hard-fought 1-0 home win against Montpellier on Sunday.
Mario Balotelli and Alassane Plea have scored 14 league goals each this season. But neither could find a way past Montpellier’s defence, the second best behind French champion Paris Saint-Germain.
Lees-Melou finally did get through, scoring with a fine strike from just outside the penalty area.
It was an important win in the hunt for a Europa League playoff place, especially since Saint-Etienne beat 18th-place Troyes 2-1 to stay one point behind in sixth place.
Slovenia striker Robert Beric came off the bench to score twice in the second half, taking his tally to seven in 11 league games.
Later, PSG was at midtable Bordeaux.
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