Montpellier became the latest side to occupy the summit of Ligue 1 in a wide open season with a 1-0 win at Nice on Saturday.
Striker Olivier Giroud’s goal seven minutes from time earned Montpellier the win that lifted them to 24 points.
Earlier, Paris Saint-Germain had consolidated their standing as legitimate title contenders with a comfortable 2-1 win over Stade Malherbe Caen at the Parc des Princes, a result that lifted Antoine Kombouare’s side into second place on 23 points.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Guillaume Hoarau put PSG into a 40th-minute lead, with his Franco-Turkish teammate Mevlut Erding following up five minutes after the restart.
Caen reduced the deficit via Moroccan Youssef El Arabi 10 minutes from time, but the hosts held on to move up from fourth to second on 23 points.
Stade Rennais kept the wheels on their title challenge with a 2-1 win over surprise high-flyers Stade Brestois 29, who went into the weekend’s action leading the pack.
Whilst far from dazzling, PSG put up a solid performance in a match that the PSG of not so long ago could easily have lost.
Among the players to shine was defender Mamadou Sakhol, emboldened from his first run out with the France national team in Wednesday’s encouraging 2-1 win over England at Wembley.
It was just the result PSG needed ahead of next week’s assignment at Olympique Lyonnais.
After struggling to break down Caen’s tight defense, Hoarau’s header with five minutes of the first half remaining broke the deadlock for his fifth goal of the season.
Defender Sylvain Armand’s long clearance then found a waiting Erding, who easily beat Caen goalkeeper Alexi Thebaux to net his fourth goal of the campaign.
Caen were looking dangerous on the counterattack and they got some reward for their spirited performance and a string of missed opportunities when El Arabi produced a fine shot from the left into an empty goal — his 10th of the season to lead the scoring charts.
Rennes took the honors against Brest in the first derby between the Brittany neighbors since 1990.
Rennes boast the tightest defense in the league, conceding only their ninth goal of the season in the second minute of stoppage-time, but by then, thanks to Jires Kembo-Ekoko’s 39th-minute opener and Jerome Leroy’s contribution in the 80th minute, Rennes had already all but sewn up the points.
Brest are fifth, albeit only a point further back.
Early trailblazers Saint-Etienne had to settle for a share of the points after their 1-1 draw with Auxerre to leave the two sides on 19 points apiece.
Olympique de Marseille, meanwhile, had trouble seeing off ten-acious Toulouse, with Nigerian defender Taye Taiwo missing a penalty and only Andre Ayew’s goal two minutes from time earning the visitors’ the points.
Elsewhere, Nancy defeated Valenciennes 2-0 to move out of the relegation zone, while Sochaux saw off Lorient by an identical scoreline at Stade Auguste Bonal.
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