Lille beats Nice 4-0 to maintain push for second in Ligue 1

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LILLE, France (AP) — Lille maintained its push for second place and an automatic Champions League spot next season with a 4-0 home win against Nice on Friday.

Lille's slick forward line overwhelmed Nice's defense, as Nicolas Pepe took his tally to 16 league goals and 19-year-old Portuguese striker Rafael Leao continued his fine form with the opening goal.

The highly rated Pepe is second on the Ligue 1 scoring chart, level with Paris Saint-Germain's Edinson Cavani and two behind PSG's Kylian Mbappe.

Trailing 2-0 at halftime, coach Patrick Vieira's Nice side barely threatened, and it was little surprise when Jonathan Bamba made it 3-0 with 15 minutes left.

Nice finished with 10 men after midfielder Pierre Lees-Melou picked a straight red card in the 88th minute, and former France striker Loic Remy completed the rout in the fourth minute of injury time.

The win moved Lille six points clear of third-place Lyon, which is at home to runaway league leader PSG on Sunday.