A brace from Brazilian striker Fred kept Lyon's push for a seventh straight domestic title on track Saturday with a 2-0 win at home to bottom-of-the-table Metz.
After holding Manchester United to a Champions League draw in midweek Lyon turned their attention back to domestic duty where they are bidding to keep second-placed Bordeaux at bay.
And the Brazilian ensured the champions maintain their cushion with goals after six and 69 minutes to leave Lyon with 52 points after 26 games, four points ahead of Bordeaux.
Lyon coach Alain Perrin said: "This week ends well with these three points. At the end of the day it's the points that count. We now have an entire week ahead of us to work calmly."
LENS LOSE
Nancy consolidated their third position, eight points behind Lyon, after getting back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory at home against fourth-from-bottom Lens, as Nice drop to sixth after losing 2-1 at home to Auxerre.
Early season surprise package Nancy had shown signs of fatigue in recent months with just one win in 11 matches, and a morale-sapping 4-0 hammering by Saint Etienne last week.
Late goals from Pascal Berenguer (73) and Youssouf Hadji (76) secured sweet revenge for Nancy who conceded two defeats to Lens in the league and League Cup quarter-finals this season.
Senegalese midfielder Abou Kader Mangane had put Lens ahead four minutes before the break.
Le Mans provisionally move up to fourth after snatching a 2-1 victory in a bad-tempered match at Valenciennes.
Marko Basa opened for the visitors after just one minute with Anthony Le Tallec giving them their second after 15 minutes.
But both teams were reduced to 10 men following scuffles after Steve Savidan scored for the hosts just before the break while Le Mans captain Mans Romaric was down.
MARCHING ORDERS
Le Tallec and Valenciennes defender Williams Martinez were both giving their marching orders for exchanging blows.
Paris Saint Germain continued their sorry season as they remain fifth from the foot, after being held 1-1 by Monaco at Parc de Princes.
Amara Diane had given the Parisians the advantage four minutes before the break but the Riveria side, desperate not to go home empty-handed after last weekend's 6-0 mauling by Bordeaux, grabbed a point through Sergio Almiron after 70 minutes.
Elsewhere, St Etienne came away 3-1 winners from midtable rivals Nancy.
In the battle against relegation, Rennes, move up four places to 13th after a 2-0 win at home against fellow Brittany side Lorient, while second-from-bottom Sochaux won 2-0 at Strasbourg.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
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Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB