Monaco hung on desperately to beat Strasbourg 3-2 in Ligue 1 on Sunday after having two players sent off and Lille moved into second place with a more straightforward 2-0 win over Nantes.

Monaco coach Niko Kovac described his side as "heroic" as they resisted a comeback from battling Strasbourg despite the dismissals of Aurelien Tchouameni and Axel Disasi at the Stade Louis II.

Wissam Ben Yedder put Monaco ahead with a ninth-minute strike before Ruben Aguilar made it 2-0 late in first-half stoppage time.

Mehdi Chahiri pulled Strasbourg back into contention just after the break before Ben Yedder struck again on 47 minutes.

But the Monaco sendings-off put Strasbourg on the front foot.

Disasi was dismissed for bringing down Ludovic Ajorque, who scored from the penalty spot to make it 3-2, setting up a breathless last 20 minutes.

"My players were heroic," Kovac said. "When we were down to nine and the young players came on they showed a lot of character."

Monaco move to 10 points from five games, three points behind surprise leaders Rennes.

Seeking to stay in touch with Rennes, who beat Saint Etienne 3-0 away on Saturday, Lille went ahead through a Nicolas Pallois own goal before Turkish international Burak Yilmaz wrapped up the three points with an 87th minute spot kick.

Montpellier wasted the chance to go second when they drew 2-2 at Dijon.

Patrick Vieira's Nice side showed they are struggling for form as they were held to a goalless draw at Bordeaux despite hitting the woodwork three times. The southern side have seven points from five games.

Lyon continued their poor start to the season with a 1-1 draw at newly-promoted Lorient that extended their winless run to four games.

Rudi Garcia's side, who reached the semi-finals of last season's Champions League, haven't picked up three points since hammering Dijon 4-1 in their opening match of the season.

Lyon sit in mid-table on six points after three draws and a defeat in their last four matches, seven behind Rennes.

Lyon took a point thanks to Leo Dubois' superb individual goal, the France international weaving in from the right before firing home the leveller.

"It's another two points lost, and a slow start which I don't like at all," said Garcia.

Lens, who came up with Lorient, continued their positive start to life in the top flight with a 1-1 draw at Nimes that keeps them at the top end of the table.

The northern side are on 10 points after five games, level with three other teams and three behind Rennes having already beaten Paris Saint-Germain, and could have come away from Sunday's clash with a win.

However Zinedine Ferhat gave the hosts a point with his close range strike with just three minutes left.

"Conceding that goal at the end of the match was frustrating," said Lens goalkeeper Jean-Louis Leca.

"However we worked hard together to bring something back to Lens. A point at Nimes is positive."

Reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, still struggling to get back on track after a stormy start to the season following their loss in the Champions League final, visit Reims later Sunday.