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French Ligue One Roundup, Dec. 18
Rennes joined Lille atop the French league by edging Valenciennes 1-0 with a last-gasp goal from Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik on Saturday.
The Rennes defender headed in a corner kick from Fabien Lemoine in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Paris Saint-Germain plays Monaco late Saturday and can put pressure on Lille with a victory over lowly Monaco. Lille tops the standings with 31 points from 17 matches and faces Nancy on Sunday.
Also on Saturday it was: Saint-Etienne 2, Arles-Avignon 0; Nice 1, Brest 1; Montpellier 1, Auxerre 1; Toulouse 3, Lorient 0.
In Saint-Etienne, Emmanuel Riviere scored a goal and set up one to give the hosts the win.
Riviere was booed by the home crowd after missing a clear-cut chance in the 13th minute. But the Saint-Etienne forward made amends in the second half, pulling the ball back for Laurent Battles, who volleyed home in the 51st. The next minute, Riviere took advantage of a miscommunication between goalkeeper Cyrille Merville and centerback Alvaro Mejia to double the lead in the 52nd.
Arles-Avignon was down to 10 men in the 57th after Sebastien Piocelle was red-carded for a harsh tackle on Battles.
Saint-Etienne climbed to fifth place with 28 points.
Nice winger Anthony Mounier had his seventh assist this season by setting up Serbian forward Danijel Ljuboja for the opening goal after six minutes.
But Johan Martial equalized for Brest from close range in the 14th after goalkeeper Lionel Letizi stopped a header from Romain Poyet.
In Montpellier, Younes Belhanda put the hosts ahead in the 58th, poking home after a mazy run.
But Burkina-Faso midfielder Alain Traore leveled for Auxerre with a powerful strike from the edge of the box in the 76th.
In Toulouse, Portuguese midfielder Paulo Machado beat goalkeeper Fabien Audard to score against the run of play in the 16th.
Machado converted a penalty in the 60th to make it 2-0 after Fode Mansare was fouled inside the area.
Paraguay forward Federico Santander sealed the win in the 67th.
On Sunday, Lens hosts Caen, Bordeaux visits Sochaux and Marseille faces Lyon.
