Auxerre missed the chance to go clear at the top of the French
league by only drawing 1-1 with Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.
Marseille edged Lens 1-0 to make up ground in the title race
while Boulogne's hopes of escaping relegation took a blow by only
drawing 1-1 with Toulouse.
Lyon, which beat Rennes 2-1 on Saturday, top the standings
with 57 points from 31 matches, the same total as Montpellier and
Auxerre. Lyon has a better goal difference.
Auxerre, which would have gone two points clear at the summit
with a victory over PSG, took the lead in the 11th minute when
Daniel Niculae chested down a cross from Ireneusz Jelen and
volleyed home.
Younousse Sankhare equalized for the visiting side six
minutes later. Mevlut Erding took a cross from Guillaume Hoarau and
saw his shot stopped by goalkeeper Olivier Sorin, but Cedric
Hengbart failed to clear the rebound and Sankhare flicked the ball
into an empty net.
Auxerre had the better of the opening exchanges but PSG
goalkeeper Apoula Edima Edel parried a long-range strike from
Benoit Pedretti in the fifth minute before blocking a header from
Niculae in the eighth.
PSG nearly took the lead before half-time but Sankhare in the
41st and Erding in the 44th failed to find the target from close
range.
Auxerre pushed hard in the last 15 minutes to win the match
but lacked a cutting edge. Jelen fired a half-volley over the bar
in the 78th and Niculae's header sailed wide in the 81st.
Marseille's winning goal came when Brazilian striker Brandao
outjumped the Lens defense to head in a corner from Lucho Gonzalez
in the 22nd minute.
Marseille had to play the last 15 minutes with 10 men after
Stephane Mbia was shown a red card for fouling Issam Jemaa while
competing for the ball in the air.
Marseille are fifth on 56 points, level with Bordeaux, with
both teams having two games in hand.
In Boulogne, Olivier Kapo beat the offside trap to dribble
past goalkeeper Olivier Blondel and score in the 36th before Norway
international Daniel Braaten leveled for Toulouse with a powerful
strike in the 88th.
Boulogne remain in 18th place and are on 24 points, eight
adrift of safety.
Also Saturday, it was: Montpellier 0, Monaco 0; Bordeaux 1,
Nancy 2; Valenciennes 1, Lille 0; Grenoble 1, Lorient 2; Nice 0,
Sochaux 0; and Saint-Etienne 2, Le Mans 0.
