PARIS, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Monaco lost to Dijon 2-0 in a crucial battle to avoid relegation in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim, set to take his duties on Sunday after replacing Thierry Henry, watched from the stands his team slide further in the relegation zone. Dijon's Kwon Chang-hoon and Naim Sliti scored in each half of the game.
Monaco sat second from bottom, two points adrift Dijon prior to their duel, where Monaco's assistant coach Franck Passi took in charge.
Dijon took the lead in the 24th minute, as Kwon collected Fouad Chafik's pass before sidefooting for his first goal of the season.
Monaco found themselves in a tougher situation after the newly-recruited defender Naldo was shown a red card for his foul on Julio Tavares in the 60th minute.
Tavares brought more harm to Monaco nine minutes later. He made the most of Fode Ballo-Toure's error to cross for Sliti, who had a fine left-footed finish on the ball.
Already having secured a vital victory in their effort to avoid relegation, Dijon could have added another later on, but their second-half substitute Jules Keita just sent a shot wide in stoppage time.
Monaco remain at their position, three points away from the safety, while Dijon climb to 16th.
The bottom side Guingamp, however, failed to capitalize the glorious chance as they lost to Reims 1-0 at home. Mathieu Cafaro scored the winner in the 38th minute.
Guingamp still sit one point shy of Monaco at bottom.
Also on Saturday, goals from Youcef Atal and Allan Saint-Maximin earned Nice a 2-0 victory over Nimes. In-form Strasbourg edged Bordeaux 1-0 thanks to Kenny Lala's shot at death, moving up to fifth.
Runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain will host Rennes on Sunday looking to regain a 13-point advantage over Lille.
