Monaco eased past Lorient in this afternoon's Ligue 1 clash, winning 1-0 thanks to a Radamel Falcao penalty.

Monaco had an early chance to take the lead when Lorient goalkeeper Fabien Audard brought down Falcao to gift the home side a penalty.

The Colombian striker stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to make it 1-0 on six minutes.

Some quick interplay between Lucas Ocampos and Joao Moutinho almost led to a second goal for the home side, but Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco could not find the finish.

Monaco continued to dominate as Falcao came close to doubling the lead on 23 minutes. Fabinho then hit the post for the hosts after collecting a fine ball from Ocampos.

Lorient had their best chance of the game on 58 minutes, but they could not take advantage, with Yann Jouffre hitting the final effort wide.

Monaco had a good opportunity to seal the points on 76 minutes when Moutinho won the ball in midfield before feeding Ocampos, but the young winger fired his effort over the bar.