France round-up: Marseille open gap at top

Olympique de Marseille took full advantage of second-placed AS Monaco FC’s inactivity to open up a five-point gap at the top of Ligue 1 thanks to a 2-0 home win against struggling Lille OSC.

Unbeaten record
Goals from Ibrahima Bakayoko and Pascal Johansen preserved Marseille's unbeaten home record and secured a win that gave the leaders a comfortable cushion at the top ahead of Monaco’s home game with seventh-placed AJ Auxerre on Sunday.

Decisive second
The home side were always in control, and took the lead after 13 minutes when Bakayoko met a cross from defender Manuel Dos Santos and beat goalkeeper Grégory Wimbée. Johansen’s free-kick ten minutes from time, a minute after the visitors had lost Mathieu Delpierre to a red card, confirmed the three points for Marseille.

Important win
Champions Olympique Lyonnais moved into third place with a crucial 4-1 home win against struggling Stade Rennais FC. Brazilian midfield player Juninho Pernambucano put the home side in front after 17 minutes, only for Philippe Delaye to equalise five minutes later.

Two for Luyindula
However, Péguy Luyindula restored Lyon’s slender advantage a minute before half-time, and Rennes’s challenge was effectively ended by the 54th minute dismissal of Grégory Bourillon, with further goals from Sidney Govou and Luyindula completing the win.

Honours even
The win moved Lyon above OGC Nice, who were held to a 1-1 draw at SC Bastia, who took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Florian Maurice. However, Nice rescued a point 13 minutes from time when Abdelmalek Cherrad equalised.

European challengers
There was success for two other sides challenging for European places, as FC Girondins de Bordeaux won 1-0 at CS Sedan-Ardennes thanks to a goal from Pascal Feidouno eight minutes before the break, while FC Sochaux-Montbéliard won by the same margin at home to Le Havre AC as Jérémy Mathieu got the only goal of the game three minutes into stoppage time.

Stirring comeback
In the early game, En Avant Guingamp came from two goals down to defeat Paris Saint-Germain FC 3-2, with goals from Ronaldinho and striker Jérôme Leroy putting the away side in control. However, Auriol Guillaume quickly pulled a goal back, and two further strikes from Didier Drogba, the second in stoppage time, completed a memorable fightback.

Comfortable victory
RC Lens moved above PSG with a 4-0 home win against Montpellier Hérault SC. First-half goals from Antoine Sibierski and Tony Vairelles put Lens in control, before Montpellier’s Sébastien Michalowski was dismissed two minutes past the hour and Daniel Moreira added two more goals in quick succession almost immediately.

Narrow wins
Elsewhere, FC Nantes Atlantique secured a narrow home win against AC Ajaccio thanks to a 70th-minute penalty from Nicolas Gillet, while a seventh-minute strike from Selim Benachour was enough for ES Troyes Aube Champagne to defeat RC Strasbourg.