Olympique Marseille went two points clear at the top of Ligue 1 with an easy 3-0 home win against Sochaux on Wednesday.
The Provence side, who had never led the standings this season, prevailed thanks to goals by Gabriel Heinze and Hatem Ben Arfa before the half hour.
Substitute Bakari Kone added a third in stoppage time.
Marseille have 59 points, with a game in hand.
Olympique Lyon are second on 57 points with seven games left, ahead of third-placed Montpellier and Auxerre, in fourth, on goal difference.
Champions Girondins Bordeaux lie fifth, three points off the pace but with two games in hand.
“Being the leaders tonight is one thing but the most important is to be still the leaders after the last game ... There are still lots of points up for grab,” Marseille coach Didier Deschamps told reporters.
“We savor the fact we are top of the standings but we must now keep our momentum,” he said.
Heinze opened the scoring for Marseille when he headed home from a corner kick in the ninth minute.
Ben Arfa made it 2-0 from the spot after Marseille defender Laurent Bonnart was downed in the box by Yassin Mikari.
Marseille’s only scare came midway through the second half when a deflected shot by Edouard Butin hit the bar.
The home side had the final word though when Kone lobbed goalkeeper Matthieu Dreyer in stoppage time.
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