Lyon roar into top spot

Late leveller
Monaco suffered a setback ahead of the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid CF on Wednesday by conceding an equaliser in added time against visiting FC Sochaux Montbeliard at the Stade Louis II. Fernando Morientes had kept his nerve from the penalty spot to put Monaco ahead on 57 minutes, and seemingly put his team on course for victory, but Mickael Pagis had other ideas, popping up at the death to peg back Didier Deschamps' men.

Malouda off
Elber's goal, struck midway through the first half against FC Nantes Atlantique, lifted Lyon into top spot and meant they have picked up seven wins and a draw from their last nine outings. The only disappointment for coach Paul Le Guen, whose side face FC Porto in their Champions League quarter-final, was midfield player Florent Malouda's 81st-minute dismissal for a second bookable offence.

PSG streak
Three points behind in the title race are Paris Saint-Germain FC, who took their run of matches in all competitions without defeat to 21 by edging out AC Ajaccio 1-0 at the Parc des Princes. Pedro Pauleta scored the only goal for the capital club, who have not lost since their 2 November defeat at the hands of RC Lens.

Three dismissals
Lens were one of four other clubs to draw 1-1 in a low-scoring weekend in France. They shared the spoils with Lille OSC while ten-man OGC Nice were held by nine-man FC Girondins de Bordeaux. Bordeaux's Albert Celades was sent off on the hour for two bookable offences within a four-minute spell and team-mate David Jemmali followed suit on 87 minutes. But there was still time for Sammy Traore to see red after being booked twice inside the last six minutes.

Frei up
SC Bastia and Le Mans UC 72 played out a goalless draw while FC Metz and SC Montpellier Herault recorded slender 1-0 wins against RC Strasbourg and AJ Auxerre respectively. But the highest-scoring game of the day came at Route de Lorient where Alexander Frei's hat-trick helped Stade Rennais FC to a 4-3 win against Olympique de Marseille.

Drogba slip
Laurent Battles put Marseille ahead on the half-hour but once Didier Drogba had levelled the scores with an own goal five minutes later, the visitors were never to regain the lead. Frei got his first of the evening on 38 minutes and although Drogba made amends for his blunder by equalising at the correct end just before half-time, the Swiss forward scored again on the hour to put Rennes 3-2 up. Ahmed Hossam 'Mido' equalised 18 minutes from time to give Marseille hope but Frei rounded off his treble to seal the points two minutes later.

Goalless draw
On Friday night, resurgent Toulouse FC and EA Guingamp locked horns in a bid to pull away from the drop zone but had to settle for a share of the spoils after a goalless draw. The result stretched Toulouse's unbeaten run to five games, a sequence which has seen them climb from rock bottom to 15th.