St-Étienne stifle Rennes ambitions

Stade Rennais FC missed the chance to join the trio of teams at the top of Ligue 1 as they were held to a 1-1 draw against AS Saint-Étienne.

Second best in the early stages, Rennes nonetheless went in ahead at half-time after Youssouf Hadji slotted in the rebound following Stéphane Ruffier's save from a Jonathan Pitroipa effort. Determined not to suffer a fourth loss in eight league matches, St-Étienne levelled 11 minutes into the second period when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang headed in a precise cross from Fabien Lemoine out on the left. Rennes now trail Olympique Lyonnais, Paris Saint-Germain FC and Toulouse FC by two points.

Elsewhere on Sunday, AJ Auxerre came from behind to beat FC Sochaux-Montbéliard thanks to four goals in quick succession after the break, including a hat-trick for Dennis Oliech. Modibo Maiga had given the visitors the lead on two minutes, but Alain Traoré (51) restored parity before Oliech added three more in the space of 15 minutes.

At the foot of the table, the points were shared between Stade Brestois 29 and AC Ajaccio. Nolan Roux (61) gave the hosts the lead, but substitute Richard Socrier (66) earned a share of the spoils to condemn winless Brest to their sixth draw out of eight this term.