Soccer-Monaco recapture second spot as Marseille misery continues

PARIS, April 17 (Reuters) - AS Monaco beat troubled visitors Olympique Marseille 2-1 on Sunday to move back above Olympique Lyonnais into second place in Ligue 1 which brings an automatic Champions League spot. Bernardo Silva opened the scoring in the 47th minute with a powerful strike from outside the area, before Andrea Raggi settled a low-key contest with a close-range effort in the 75th. The win moves Monaco into second place on 58 points, two ahead of Lyon, who were held to a 1-1 home draw by Nice -- a further two points back in fourth -- on Friday. The principality side are 28 points adrift of champions Paris St Germain. Marseille, who pulled a goal back when Michy Batshuayi was set up by Steven Fletcher in stoppage time, are just six points clear of the drop zone in 15th. "The important thing is that we're back in second place," Monaco midfielder Bernardo Silva told Canal Plus. "Now we need to hold onto it." Elsewhere, 16th-placed Montpellier eased their relegation fears with a 2-0 victory at injury-hit Nantes, while Guingamp won 3-0 at Breton rivals Stade Rennes, all the goals coming in 14 second-half minutes. (Reporting by Ed Dove; editing by Neil Robinson)