Lille consolidated third place in the French league by defeating
Nancy 3-1 on Sunday for its third straight victory.
Marseille leads the league with 72 points from 35 matches and
could clinch the title on Wednesday if it beats Rennes and Auxerre
fails to win at Lyon. Marseille held second-place Auxerre to a
scoreless draw Friday to keep its five-point cushion atop the
standings.
Yohan Cabaye put Lille ahead in the 33rd minute with a free
kick into the top corner. Two minutes later it was 2-0, Ivory Coast
forward Gervinho beating the offside trap to chip goalkeeper
Gennaro Bracigliano for his 13th goal of the season.
Pierre-Alain Frau hit the target from a cross by Eden Hazard
in the 49th before Chris Malonga scored a consolation goal for
Nancy in the 55th.
"It's our third straight win," Lille coach Rudi Garcia told
RMC radio. "Tonight we created plays and had a very good game.
We've been strong mentally in our last three matches."
Lille has 64 points, two clear of Lyon, which has a game in
hand.
Lyon edged Montpellier 1-0 to climb to fourth place after
Michel Bastos took advantage of a miscommunication from two
defenders to collect a long clearance kick from goalkeeper Hugo
Lloris and fire home a low strike in the 72nd.
Montpellier dropped to sixth place with 60 points.
Also Sunday, it was: Bordeaux 1, Toulouse 0; Valenciennes 0,
Lorient 0; Rennes 1, Sochaux 2; Saint-Etienne 1, Lens 4 and
Boulogne 3, Nice 3.
In Bordeaux, Michael Ciani outjumped the Toulouse defense to
power home a header in the 17th minute and keep alive his team's
hopes of qualifying for Europe.
"I think the players had a problem with their mindset,"
Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc said. "Tonight, they rediscovered a
right mindset but it cost them a lot of efforts. I hope they'll be
able to do it again."
Bordeaux ended a six-game winless streak to move into fifth
place with 60 points.
Sochaux opened the scoring against Rennes in the 28th thanks
to an own-goal from Jimmy Briand, who tried to clear a corner but
turned the ball into his own net.
Benjamin Gavanon added a second goal for Sochaux in the 81st
by sliding home a pass from Nicolas Maurice-Belay. Sylvain Marveaux
pulled one back for Rennes with a penalty in the 83rd after a
Sochaux defender had handled the ball.
Sochaux ended an eight-game winless streak but remained in
16th place with 41 points.
Pape Diakhate hit the net from close range in the 44th for
Saint-Etienne after Lens' defense had failed to clear a free kick.
But Kanga Akale leveled for Lens in the 55th when he followed up to
score into an empty net after goalkeeper Jeremie Janot had stopped
a shot from Tunisia forward Issam Jemaa.
Four minutes later, Jemaa slipped while attempting a shot but
his unintentional lob beat Janot to give Lens a 2-1 lead.
Substitute Toifilou Maoulida sealed the win for Lens by scoring in
the 83rd and 89th minutes.
Saint-Etienne missed an opportunity to secure its top-flight
safety and stayed in 17th place with 36 points.
"We just needed to shut them out and we didn't manage to do
it," Janot told Canal Plus television. "It's a big feeling of shame
tonight."
Boulogne came back from 3-0 down with 10 minutes left to
salvage a draw and avoid relegation for at least one more round.
Nice's Loic Remy headed in a cross from Emerse Fae in the
31st before outpacing the defense on a counterattack in the 56th to
notch his 13th goal this season for a 2-0 lead. David Hellebuyck
then increased Nice's lead to 3-0 with a low shot in the 62nd.
Jeremy Blayac started Boulogne's comeback with a diagonal
strike in the 81st before Olivier Kapo cut Nice's lead to one goal
with a header in the 88th. Alexandre Cuvillier scored the equalizer
for Boulogne in injury time.
On Saturday, Paris Saint-Germain beat Monaco 1-0 in extra
time to win the French Cup.
