Defending champion Bordeaux moved back to the top of the French
league standings on Sunday after coming from a goal down to beat
Lille 3-1.
Goals from Michael Ciani, Jussie and Yoann Gourcuff ended a
winless run of three league matches for Laurent Blanc's team while
second-placed Montpellier stayed level on 56 points with Bordeaux
after a 2-1 win over Valenciennes.
Bordeaux, with one game in hand, tops the standings on goal
difference.
Blanc said he was pleased with the result but rued his
players' poor display in the first half.
"Our start was more than mediocre," Blanc said. "This is
something I find difficult to accept and understand. Bordeaux was
overwhelmed in the first 30 minutes and we made a tactical mistake
that allowed Lille to open the scoring. There were some individual
errors too."
Auxerre, which had taken a provisional lead with a 2-1 win
over Le Mans on Saturday, is third with 55 points.
Lille opened the scoring in the 24th minute on a
counterattack when Eden Hazard was set up by Florent Balmont and
fired a low shot past goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso.
France defender Ciani had a good chance to level four minutes
later but his header from Gourcuff's cross went over the bar.
He made no mistake in the 39th minute, though, when he beat
goalkeeper Michael Landreau with a powerful volley after Lille
defenders had failed to clear Gourcuff's free kick.
Bordeaux then took the lead in the 66th minute after Ricardo
Costa fouled Marouane Chamakh in the box. Referee Philippe Malige
pointed to the spot and sent off the Lille defender, while Jussie
converted the penalty by wrongfooting Landreau for his fourth goal
this season.
Gourcuff capped his team's fine performance 10 minutes later
with a right foot strike after being set up by Wendel. Gourcuff had
also scored in a 2-1 win against Olympiakos on Wednesday that
qualified the club for the last eight of the Champions League.
After drawing with title rivals Bordeaux and Auxerre in its
last two games, Montpellier remained in the title race courtesy of
goals from Victor Hugo Montano and Joris Marveaux.
"We won with our guts," Montpellier coach Rene Girard said.
Determined not to get carried away by his side's title
chances, Girard added: "Given the difficulties we had against
Valenciennes and the fact that there are still nine rounds to play,
you need to keep a clear head."
Montano put Montpellier in front after goalkeeper Nicolas
Penneteau came out for Alberto Costa's cross and missed it in the
fifth minute. Montano retrieved the ball and volleyed into an open
goal to score his 10th goal this season.
Valenciennes and Montpellier both created plenty of chances
in the first half but were let down by poor finishing.
Marveaux extended Montpellier's lead in the 50th minute from
close range when the ball bounced off his back and squeezed past
Penneteau following Costa's free kick from 40 meters.
Midfielder Fahid Ben Khalfallah pulled a goal back for
Valenciennes in the 74th minute.
Also Sunday, Marseille moved up to fourth overall and within
three points of the leaders with a 2-1 win over seven-time champion
Lyon.
Lyon had the upper hand in a first half of few chances - a
sharp contrast to the sides' 5-5 draw earlier this season.
Lyon midfielder Miralem Pjanic hit the bar with a right-foot
shot from 20 meters just after halftime before Marseille captain
Mamadou Niang created his team's first clear chance with a shot
from close range that went over the bar in the 58th.
Marseille's Charles Kabore finally broke the deadlock in the
68th minute after turning Kim Kallstrom before unleashing a
30-meter deflected drive over goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Left unmarked in the box, Lyon substitute Bafetimbi Gomis
leveled with a header in the 80th minute following a free kick -
only for Marseille defender Taye Taiwo to score the winner a minute
later with a left-foot strike into the bottom corner.
Lyon, which will lock horns with Bordeaux in the Champions
League's quarterfinals, dropped down to sixth in the standings with
51 points.
