Paris, Apr 17 (AP) Lille needed a late equalizer from Luiz Araujo to draw 1-1 at home to Montpellier and guarantee it will keep top spot in a close French title race, regardless of whether defending champion Paris Saint-Germain wins this weekend.

With time running out against a well-drilled and counterattacking Montpellier side, a loose ball fell to the Brazilian on the left of the penalty area and Araujo curled a superb shot past goalkeeper Jonas Omlin in the 84th minute.

Eighth-place Montpellier's main threat -- Teji Savanier providing for strikers Gaetan Laborde and Andy Delort — caught Lille cold after 20 minutes.

The unselfish Laborde chased a pass down the right and whipped in a fine cross which the alert Delort met with a diving header.

He joined Laborde on 12 goals this season, a good total considering that Delort has twice tested positive for coronavirus during this season.

Lille is four points ahead of Champions League semifinalist PSG, which hosts an improving Saint-Etienne side on Sunday without the suspended Neymar.

There are five rounds remaining after this weekend's matches. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)