PARIS, September 29 — Second-half substitute Lamine Camara scored deep into injury time as Monaco beat Montpellier 2-1 yesterday to move back level on points with Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

Monaco celebrated the club’s centenary at its Louis-II stadium with a resounding victory when Senegalese midfielder Camara, coming off the bench in the 67th minute, completed a cross from captain Denis Zakaria.

The victory is a boost ahead of Monaco’s Champions League trip to Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday. This allows the Principality to return to level with 16 points with leader PSG after six games.

“I am very happy with the victory in front of all these former Monegasque stars, including Arsène Wenger,” said coach Adi Huetter.

“We saw everyone’s emotion when the goal was scored. It’s a big victory, in front of our supporters, former coaches and former players.

Dressed in black to commemorate the original Monaco jersey from 1924, Adi Hutter’s men trailed after 16 minutes on Rabby Nzingoula’s first goal in Ligue 1.

Montpellier goalkeeper Dimitry Bertaud made two exceptional saves from Breel Embolo then Denis Zakaria as Monaco continued to push.

American striker Folarin Balogun equalized after 32 minutes on a cross from Embolo.

Hutter brought on substitute Camara midway through the second half to give his team some momentum.

The expulsion of Montpellier striker Tanguy Coulibaly in the 90th minute for a second yellow card had repercussions.

The hosts’ pressing paid off when Camara burst through in the eighth minute of added time to deny Montpellier a precious point. They have slipped to third place from the bottom of the league.

Earlier, Lille ended a five-match winless run as they prepared for their Champions League clash against Spanish giants Real Madrid with a 3-0 win over Le Havre.

Canadian forward Jonathan David scored all three goals to lift the Northerners to fourth place with 10 points.

David got his first goal against Arthur Desmas after 23 minutes and added a second in the 35th minute.

A perfect cross from Edon Zhegrova saw David nod home in the third after 79 minutes.

In the final minutes, Desmas limited the damage by stopping a weak penalty from Angel Gomes.

Furthermore, the return of Nice coach Franck Haise to Lens where he coached until a few months ago ended in a goalless draw.

Lens is fifth, two points ahead of sixth-placed Nice. -AFP