Title hopefuls left frustrated

Olympique Lyonnais missed out on the chance to go top of Ligue 1 when they were held to a goalless draw at lowly US Boulogne on Saturday.

With top two FC Girondins de Bordeaux and Montpellier Hérault SC meeting on Sunday, Lyon could have pulled a point clear of the joint leaders. As it was, they were forced to settle for a draw by the second-bottom side. The result ended Lyon's four-game winning streak ahead of Wednesday's UEFA Champions League first knockout round second leg at Real Madrid CF, but extended their run without conceding to 620 minutes.

LOSC Lille Métropole's title ambitions also suffered a blow as they were forced to settle for a point at AS Saint-Etienne. Emmanuel Rivière opened the scoring for the hosts in the 17th-minute after being sent clear by Dimitri Payet, but the lead was short-lived, Stéphane Dumont drawing Lille level from close range five minutes later following a corner. The point was enough, however, to take Lille up to fourth, three points off the top.  They leapfrog Olympique de Marseille, who face FC Lorient on Sunday, on goal difference.

AJ Auxerre, in sixth, strengthened their bid for a European place thanks to Ireneusz Jeleń's 38th-minute strike in a 1-0 win at home to Valenciennes FC. There were also victories for Stade Rennais FC over AS Monaco FC, and FC Sochaux-Montbéliard at home to Toulouse FC, both 1-0, while AS Nancy-Lorraine were impressive victors 3-2 at struggling OGC Nice. Substitute Issiar Dia got the winner in the second minute of added time. Stéphane Sessegnon struck even later for Paris Saint-Germain FC, finding the net four minutes into stoppage time to earn his side a 1-1 draw at RC Lens.