AFP, Paris :
French Ligue 1 leaders Monaco had a man sent off in a frustrating 0-0 draw with Lille on Friday.
The result moved Monaco to 20 points, three ahead of champions Paris-Saint Germain who host Strasbourg on Saturday.
Monaco had to play a man down for the last 30 minutes after Dutch international Jordan Teze was red-carded for an ugly challenge on Gabriel Gudmundsson.
Despite being outnumbered, Monaco continued to press for a winner with Maghnes Akliouche setting up Denis Zakaria but his injury-time strike was well-saved by Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier.
Monaco sorely missed American star Folarin Balogun who faces a long stretch on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.
“We lost two points this evening, but I saw a very good performance from our team,” said Monaco coach Adi Huetter.
“We were the best side on the pitch and we deserved victory. We remain undefeated and it’s a good point for us.”
However, Friday was the first time this season that Monaco had failed to score.