Nancy assume sole control

AS Nancy-Lorraine continued their fantastic start to the season by overwhelming AJ Auxerre 4-1 while FC Lorient went second thanks to a last-gasp leveller at FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

Convincing win
Four different Nancy players got in on the act as they swept to their fourth win in five Ligue 1 games this season and opened up a two-point gap at the top. Chris Malonga Ntsayi opened the scoring in the 36th minute and Brazilian striker Kim added another seconds later. Two more strikes within ten minutes of the restart flattened Auxerre - Frédéric Biancalani and Marc-Antoine Fortuné getting the goals - before Kevin Lejeune netted a consolation.

Bellion double
Lorient and Le Mans UC 72 started the day level on points with Nancy but neither could muster the win needed to keep pace. Lorient were held to a 2-2 draw at Bordeaux, where goals in each half by David Bellion twice gave the hosts the lead only for Rafiq Saïfi and Hamed Namouchi to equalise. Le Mans were defeated 3-1 at AS Monaco FC. Daisuke Matsui had given the visitors the lead at the interval, but a quick-fire double from Leandro Cufré and Frédéric Piquionne shattered their hopes.

Chasing pack
RC Strasbourg and Valenciennes FC joined those two teams on ten points after home successes. Strasbourg were 2-1 winners against struggling RC Lens thanks to goals from Wason Rentería and Renaud Cohade, while Valenciennes defeated FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 3-1. Julien Quercia had stunned the home crowd early on, but Yacine Bezzaz and Eric Chelle turned the game around before half-time and Steve Savidan struck his third goal in two games.

Terrific Thomert
Elsewhere, Olivier Thomert scored both goals in Stade Rennais FC's 2-0 win against basement club FC Metz, Olympique de Marseille were 2-1 victors at SM Caen, and Toulouse FC warmed up for their UEFA Champions League clash with Liverpool FC by earning a 1-1 draw at OGC Nice.