Lille made light work of Caen to continue their stroll toward the French league title with a 3-1 win on Saturday as rivals Rennes and Paris Saint-German lost ground following goalless draws at home.
Rudi Garcia’s side now have a seven-point cushion on second-placed Marseille, who faced a tricky trip to Lens yesterday, as former seven-time champions Lyon, in fourth nine points behind the leaders, traveled to Nice.
Despite the absence of the injured Adil Rami, the northerners showed no signs of weakness as they kept their bid for a first league title since 1954 on track.
Lille’s Yohan Cabaye missed an early penalty, but made up with the decisive corner which set up Aurelien Chedjou opener after 30 minutes.
Striker Eden Hazard added a second after 61 minutes and the league’s top scorer Moussa Sow slotted home his 20th goal of the season 12 minutes later.
The loss could have been heavier but for Caen goalie Thomas Bosmel, who proved solid at key moments.
Youssef El Arabi got one back five minutes from time, but Caen, three points above the drop zone, suffered their third heavy defeat of the season to Lille.
Lille’s next match is against struggling Monaco, who won 2-0 against Arles-Avignon.
Meanwhile, Rennes were hampered by their injury-depleted strike force — notably Yacine Brahimi and Victor Hugo Montano — and could find no way past Auxerre.
The Brittany side have lost momentum in recent weeks, taking just two points from their last three matches.
Auxerre for their part are just above the drop zone in 17th.
Paris Saint-Germain have also lost steam, taking two points from their last four games, including Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Lorient, a team who have caused the Parisians problems in recent years.
Since the Brittany club were promoted in 2006 they have lost just once in four games at Parc des Princes. They are eighth with the Parisians fifth, 12 points behind Lille and five off Rennes.
Elsewhere, Bordeaux provisionally move up to sixth despite a 0-0 draw at 12th-place Nancy.
The situation remains complicated for Brest, who suffered their fourth straight defeat after losing 2-1 to Sochaux.
Montpellier won 1-0 at Toulouse.
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