PSG beat strugglers Nancy to go second in French Ligue 1

French Ligue 1 reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain claimed a 2-1 win with a bunch of star players missing away at Nancy on Saturday, moving to the second place after leveling on points with Monaco.

Les Parisiens opened scoring in the 13th minute through Lucas Moura's free kick, which evaded everyone including Nancy goalkeeper Guy N'dy Assembe and bended in the goal.

Five minutes later, Edinson Cavani made it two, lifting the ball over N'Dy Assembe after Michael Chretien made a hash of PSG goalie Alphonse Areola's long kick.

The capital side failed to finish the game with a convincing 2-0 win as Nancy hauled themselves back into the game with Alou Diarra's 55th-minute powerful header from Benoit Pedretti's free kick.

It's a victory in need for Paris Saint-Germain, however, ahead of next week's Champions League Group A match hosting Basel and Le Classique of Ligue 1 against Marseille at home.

"I am very happy with the three points," said PSG coach Unai Emery. "It was a tough game on an artificial pitch against a side in need of points at home."

Angel Di Maria, Thiago Motta, Javier Pastore, Serge Aurier, Layvin Kurzawa and Maxwell were all missing from PSG squad in Nancy.

With the win, PSG move level on 19 points with Monaco but four behind the top-flight pace-setters Nice, while Nancy, the Ligue 2 champions in last season, stay on bottom of the league table.

Famara Diedhiou claimed a brace to help Angers leapfrog Bastia into the eighth place in a 2-1 win, while 10-man Montpellier held on for a 3-2 win over Caen thanks to Casimir Ninga's double.

Also on Saturday, Guingamp are up to fifth with a 1-0 victory over Lille, and Nantes beat Lorient 2-1 to make it back-to-back league victories. Endit