STRASBOURG, April 5 (Ligue 1) - Monaco struck twice in the second half to move five points clear of the relegation zone and leave Strasbourg in real trouble.

Nene opened the scoring on 67 minutes with a deflected 25-yard strike before Brazilian full-back Fabio Santos made the game safe six minutes from time.

Strasbourg have now lost five consecutive games, a run which has seen them drop to second-bottom, though they are one of four teams on 35 points.

Both sides have slipped down the table since mid-season, Monaco having picked up only three points from a possible 27 going into the clash.

But they began brightly, Sergio Almiron firing a stunning third-minute shot from the right edge of the penalty area which goalkeeper Stephane Cassard palmed away.

Nikola Pokrivac found the side netting with a strike from the edge of the penalty area 20 minutes later.

Strasbourg had their only genuine chance just after the half-hour mark, Kevin Gameiro forcing a good save from Flavio Roma from 18 yards.

Monaco continued to threaten after the break and Malaury Martin's snapshot whistled past the top corner after 62 minutes.

And they eventually took the lead on 67 minutes when Martin set Frederique Piquionne free down on the left.

Piquionne passed back to Djamel Bakar, who released Nene to fire a 25-yard shot into the top corner via a slight deflection off a defender's leg.

Fabio Santos sealed the win for Monaco after another counter-attack, Nene finding his compatriot in the penalty area and the full-back beating Cassard with a left-footed effort.