Auxerre was held to a 0-0 draw at Monaco on Monday, missing an
opportunity to take top spot in the French league.
Auxerre stretched its unbeaten streak to seven games but
remained in third place with 56 points, level with Montpellier and
Bordeaux, which has two games in hand. Defending champion Bordeaux
tops the standings on goal difference.
Auxerre believed it had scored the winning goal in the 82nd
minute, but Romania forward Daniel Niculae's strike was ruled
offside.
In a lackluster match, Auxerre defender Adama Coulibaly had
the first scoring chance, heading a corner wide in the 21st.
Monaco's only opportunity came when Brazilian midfielder
Nene, unmarked inside the area, fired over the crossbar in the
43rd.
Lille beat Montpellier 4-1 on Sunday to move closer to a
Champions League berth and deny its opponent the chance of going
top.
Lille climbed to fourth place with 54 points.
Also Sunday, it was: Le Mans 1, Rennes 3; Lorient 4,
Saint-Etienne 0; Toulouse 0, Nice 2; Paris Saint-Germain 3,
Boulogne 0; and Nancy 5, Lens 1.
On Saturday, Marseille ended its 17-year title drought by
beating Bordeaux 3-1 in the French League Cup final. It was
Marseille's first trophy since it won the Champions League in 1993.
Lyon beat last-place Grenoble 2-0 to make up ground in the
chase for a European spot, moving into fifth place with 54 points.
