Girondins Bordeaux moved level on points with Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Marseille thanks to a 3-0 win over struggling Sochaux on Sunday.
Early goals by 19-year-old Gregory Sertic and France playmaker Yoann Gourcuff and a stoppage-time header by Marouane Chamakh carried Bordeaux to 68 points with four games left.
Marseille top the table on goal difference after they drew 2-2 with Toulouse on Saturday.
PHOTO: AFP
“My team will fight until the end and if we keep that state of mind, we will be rewarded,” Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc told Canal Plus after his side extended their winning streak to seven league games.
Bordeaux had to score five to go top and they looked on their way to achieve the feat after twice finding the back of the net in the first 15 minutes.
Sertic, who played his first game in the top flight last Wednesday, broke the deadlock with a left-foot shot from just outside the area in the seventh minute.
Gourcuff headed home the second seven minutes later, but Bordeaux had to wait until stoppage-time to add a third by Morocco striker Chamakh.
Sochaux were reduced to 10 men in the 83rd minute when defender Rabiu Afolabi earned a second booking.
The eastern side are just above the drop zone on 33 points, ahead of Nantes and St Etienne on goal difference.
Bottom side Le Havre kept their faint hopes of escaping relegation alive when they recovered from a goal down to win 2-1 at Nantes.
Earlier, Paris Saint-Germain squandered a chance to go third when a Mamadou Sakho own goal consigned them to a 1-0 defeat at home to Stade Rennes.
The capital side thought they would get the opener just after the hour, but Stade Rennes goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez made two superb saves from close range in a few seconds. Peguy Luyindula then collected the ball, but he could only hit the post.
Instead, Sakho deflected in a Jerome Leroy shot two minutes later to give the visiting side victory.
“We managed to create some good chances, but their goalkeeper and the post denied us a goal,” Paris defender Zoumana Camara said. “If we are not able to win that kind of game, it means we deserve to stay fourth.”
Stade Rennes, who will play the French Cup final against second-division Guingamp on Saturday, are seventh on 54 points.
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