Ligue One Roundup, Jan. 19

Ligue One Roundup, Jan. 19

Published Jan. 19, 2010 10:34 p.m. ET

Saint-Etienne missed the chance to move further away from the relegation zone when it drew 0-0 at home to Rennes in the French league on Tuesday.

Boubacar Sanogo almost won the match for Saint-Etienne in the last minute but Rennes goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez did well to kick away his goal-bound shot.

Saint-Etienne showed just why it was struggling and did not muster a shot on target until Guiranne N'Daw's tame free kick was saved easily by Douchez in the 76th.

The draw meant both teams failed to gain any ground. Rennes remained in ninth place with 31 points from 21 games, while Saint-Etienne was one place above the relegation zone in 17th place with 20 - just four points ahead of Le Mans in 18th.

Rennes striker Jimmy Briand, trying to force his way back into the France squad after recovering from a long-term knee injury, raced through early on and only a fine tackle from Yohan Benalouane deprived him of a scoring opportunity.

But in a game of few chances played in heavy fog at Stade Geffroy-Guichard, Rennes waited until the 48th minute to test Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Jeremie Janot, who did well to parry a shot from striker Moussa Sow.

On Wednesday, French leader Bordeaux travels to play last-place Grenoble, and second-place Lille is at Sochaux.

Lille has scored 26 goals in the last seven league games, and has managed to tally at least three goals in each of its last 10 games in all competitions.

Bordeaux has 44 points, Lille 37 and Montpellier was in third spot with 36. All have played 20 games. Marseille has played 19 matches and was in fourth with 33.

In Wednesday's other games, it is: Lens vs. Montpellier; Lorient vs. Lyon; Marseille vs. Le Mans; Nice vs. Auxerre; Paris Saint-Germain vs. Monaco; Toulouse vs. Nancy; and Boulogne vs. Valenciennes.

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