France round-up: Late goal denies Lyon

Olympique de Marseille held on to first place in Ligue 1 without playing on Sunday as Olympique Lyonnais conceded a last-minute equaliser against Montpellier Hérault SC and pre-weekend leaders OGC Nice suffered a 4-0 loss.

Cissé's late intervention
Champions Lyon were one of four sides who could have overtaken Marseille, who beat ES Sedan-Ardennes 2-1 on Saturday, and looked like being the only one of that quartet to win as they led bottom-placed Montpellier 1-0 through an Eric Carrière second-half goal. But Abdoulaye Cissé's late intervention for Montpelier ensured Lyon ended the weekend in fourth, two points behind Marseille.

Bordeaux bounce back
Nice dropped to second as they endured a 4-0 defeat by FC Girondins de Bordeaux, who exited the UEFA Cup on Thursday against RSC Anderlecht. Brazilian striker Savio put the home side 2-0 up by half-time, and further goals from Pauleta and Eduardo Costa ensured it was an unhappy return to Bordeaux for Nice coach Gernot Rohr, previously in charge at the Chaban-Delmas stadium.

Monaco hit form
AS Monaco are up to fourth after themselves gaining a 4-0 win against another side aiming to end the weekend on top of the division, En Avant Guingamp. Shabani Nonda opened the scoring with a 39th-minute penalty, and after the break Jerome Rothen added two goals, Monaco's fourth coming from Dado Prso, while Guingamp had Nestor Fabbri sent off late on for deliberate handball.

Rennes overcome PSG
Guingamp hold sixth place, behind AJ Auxerre, who themselves aimed to return to first place but were held 0-0 by RC Strasbourg, as Paris Saint-Germain FC lost touch with the leading sides as they fell to a 1-0 defeat at struggling Stade Rennais FC, courtesy of Dominique Arribagé's 72nd-minute goal, at the end of an unhappy week that has seen PSG exit the French League Cup and the UEFA Cup.

Lens in sight
RC Lens, another team whose UEFA Cup campaign ended this week, remain in sight of the top seven after beating Le Havre AC 1-0, while FC Nantes Atlantique are also not out of the running thanks to a 2-1 victory against lowly ES Troyes Aube Champagne, yet to win away all season. Ajaccio gained a valuable point as they seek to avoid relegation as they came from two goals behind to hold Lille OSC 2-2, Bruno Rodriguez's late equaliser ending his side's run of four straight defeats.