Defender Gabriel Heinze and winger Andre Ayew scored in the first half as defending champion Marseille beat bitter rival Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 at home Sunday to stay within four points of French leader Lille.
Heinze put Marseille ahead in the 17th minute with a free kick, but midfielder Clement Chantome equalized 10 minutes later, before the Ghana winger Ayew headed the home side back in front at Stade Velodrome in the 35th.
Marseille is in second place, one point ahead of Rennes and two ahead of fourth-place Lyon. PSG is fifth.
"We really wanted to win in front of our own fans after what happened in the first game (where PSG won)," Ayew said. "From a personal point of view, it's very satisfying. For a player who was formed here to score the winning goal against PSG is a dream come true."
Marseille midfielder Benoit Cheyrou thinks Marseille can catch Lille with 10 rounds left.
"After our setback against Manchester United (in the Champions League) we had to show a lot of mental strength tonight," Cheyrou said. "We have to keep that going until the end of the season, to go as far as possible."
PSG coach Antoine Kombouare dropped goalie Apoula Edel after several poor performances and replaced him with 38-year-old veteran Gregory Coupet.
But Coupet stood rooted to the spot as Heinze curled the ball perfectly around the wall and into the bottom corner. Heinze, who had three seasons at PSG earlier in his career, scored Marseille's winner in the corresponding fixture last season.
PSG equalized when Christophe Jallet clipped the ball over the defense for Brazilian midfielder Nene, who chested the ball down before striking the post. The rebound fell to Chantome, and he stroked in his first league goal of the season.
Coupet was powerless to stop Marseille's second goal, again standing on the spot, when Ayew beat him with a downward header from Andre-Pierre Gignac's whipped cross from the right.
Moments later, Nene wasted a great chance to make it 2-2, intercepting defender Souleymane Diawara's poor clearance, sprinting through and clipping the ball over goalie Steve Mandanda but just wide.
"We had a lot of possession but couldn't make the difference in the last 20 meters," PSG winger Ludovic Giuly said. "They weren't that good tonight, they took their chances and we didn't."
Marseille started without playmaker Lucho Gonzalez, who was burgled by armed robbers at his home on Thursday night. He was unharmed but shocked by the incident, and coach Didier Deschamps decided to put him on the bench.
Deschamps welcomed back France winger Mathieu Valbuena, who started his first match since Jan. 19. Valbuena had partially torn knee ligaments and damaged a cartilage in his ankle in a training accident.
Both matches this season have not featured any away fans after violent fan clashes marred both games last season.
Shortly after the restart, Cheyrou released Ayew and he forced a save from Coupet with a low shot.
Valbuena struggled with his fitness and Deschamps replaced him with Gonzalez with 30 minutes remaining.
Marseille camped in its own half as PSG sought an equalizer, but two quick breaks almost led to a third goal for Deschamps' team, with Gonzalez and Loic Remy both shooting over from good positions.
Earlier, Morocco striker Youssef El Arabi scored his 14th league goal of the season as Caen beat last-place Arles-Avignon 2-0 in the French league to move six points clear of the relegation zone.
Caen struggled to break down a resolute defense before winger Yohan Mollo found the net in the 79th minute with a powerful free kick from the edge of the penalty area that flew into the top left corner.
El Arabi wrapped up the win in the 85th when he broke into the penalty area, cut inside a defender and then curled the ball into the bottom right corner.
"We were shy in the first half, we lacked rhythm," Caen coach Franck Dumas said. "Mollo's free kick was the breakthrough and I knew a second goal would come."
Monaco stays in the drop zone after stumbling to a 1-0 home loss to fellow struggler Nancy, which scored an early goal when Brazilian defender Andre Luiz headed in powerfully from Julien Feret's 19th-minute corner.
Monaco's South Korea forward, Park Chu-young, had a first-half penalty saved by goalkeeper Damien Gregorini, who made several other saves in the second half.
"The situation has been serious for quite some time," Monaco coach Laurent Banide said. "Things are very complicated now and we will have to respond very quickly."
Monaco is in 18th place and is three points behind 17th-place Auxerre. Arles is rock bottom and looks certain to be relegated, having only won one game out of 28 in the league this season.
Monaco will hope to pick up some points away to Arles-Avignon next week before hosting Lille. Monaco has averaged under a goal per game so far this season, but Arles-Avignon has conceded 55 goals.
"There are four or five teams in this relegation scrap," Monaco goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier said. "It's the team that fights the hardest that will make it.
