Monaco’s defense falls apart in 3-3 draw at Toulouse

PARIS (AP) - Second-place Monaco’s defense fell apart as struggling Toulouse rallied from 3-1 down to salvage a 3-3 draw in the French league on Saturday.

Yaya Sanogo was given too much space by four Monaco defenders around him as he swiveled neatly to turn in fellow striker Andy Delort’s cross in the 87th minute. Delort’s 78th-minute penalty made it 3-2 after Monaco seemed in complete control.

Attacking midfielder Rony Lopes scored twice for Monaco around an equalizer by midfielder Ibrahim Sangare, and forward Stevan Jovetic made it 3-1 to Monaco in the 72nd.

Lopes put Monaco ahead in the eighth minute after striker Keita Balde broke into the penalty area and held off three defenders before squaring the ball to him. Lopes swept in his second two minutes after the break, when Jovetic’s half-volley crashed back off the post.

After Jovetic’s confident finish for 3-1, Monaco center half Kamil Glik was harshly adjudged to have pushed Sanogo in the back when the striker was attempting an overhead kick, and 16th-place Toulouse was given a soft penalty.

“Of course we’re angry. He (Glik) didn’t do anything, he just stood still and the referee gave a penalty,” fellow center half Andrea Raggi said. “When we make mistakes we have to admit it, so they (referees) should too.”

Monaco is 11 points behind runaway league leader Paris Saint-Germain, which is at home to bitter rival Marseille on Sunday. Marseille can move above Monaco into second place if it wins at Parc des Princes.

In Sunday’s other matches, fourth-place Lyon hosts bitter local rival Saint-Etienne - they share 10 league titles between them - and Bordeaux faces Nice.

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OTHER MATCHES

Nantes missed the chance to move up to fifth place after losing to Amiens 1-0, with attacking midfielder Gael Kakuta scoring for the visitors.

Rennes moved to within one point of Nantes after beating relegation battler Troyes 2-0 at home, with winger Whabi Khazri netting his eighth goal of the campaign.

Dijon moved up to 11th place with a home win against Caen 2-0; mid-table Guingamp needed a late equalizer to draw with last-place Metz 2-2, and striker Karl Toko Ekambi scored twice as Angers moved out of the relegation zone by winning at Lille 2-1.