Bordeaux reclaimed top spot in Ligue 1 on goal difference with a 0-0 draw at Marseille on Sunday.
The result ended Bordeaux’s run of 14 successive wins, however, including the 11 victories that led them to their first title in 10 years last season.
After four games, the champions, Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyon all have 10 points, with promoted Montpellier and Marseille two behind.
PHOTO: AFP
The top spot changed three times over the weekend as Lyon grabbed first place on Saturday with a 3-1 home win over AS Nancy, before Paris Saint-Germain claimed it on Sunday when they beat Lille 3-0.
Midfielder Jeremy Clement set PSG on their way in the 28th minute when he took full advantage of a poor clearance from a corner, controlled the ball on the edge of the area and blasted it into the corner of the net past Ludovic Butelle.
Peguy Luyindula got their second goal 13 minutes from time when Christophe Jallet set him up for a duel with Butelle and he slipped the ball under the goalkeeper’s body.
Jallet added to Butelle’s misery when he volleyed a Stephane Sessegnon cross between his legs in injury-time.
Olympique Marseille paid tribute to Robert Louis-Dreyfus, their main shareholder who died on July 4, before kickoff against Girondins Bordeaux at the Stade Velodrome.
The lengthy ceremony meant the players from both teams were slow to find their rhythm.
The best two chances went to Marseille when Brazilian striker Brandao hit the post with a powerful left-foot shot in the 35th minute and midfielder Benoit Cheyrou blasted a half-volley against the bar in the 64th minute.
Marseille nearly paid the price for missing their chances when Bordeaux’s Brazilian midfielder Fernando headed into the net from a corner in the 90th minute, but his effort was disallowed because of a foul in the area.
“We were a bit lucky. We got a point and we are not unhappy,” Bordeaux manager Laurent Blanc told TV channel Canal Plus.
Marseille coach Didier Deschamps said: “It was a game of Champion’s League level. We tried to push forward, but Bordeaux have a great mastery of the game.”
In Sunday’s other afternoon game, Valenciennes recorded their first win of the season at Toulouse, beating the Europa League contenders 1-0.
French Ligue 1
Team | P | GD | PTS | |
1 | Bordeaux | 4 | 8 | 10 |
2 | PSG | 4 | 6 | 10 |
3 | Lyon | 4 | 6 | 10 |
4 | Montpellier | 4 | 5 | 8 |
5 | Marseille | 4 | 3 | 8 |
6 | Lens | 4 | 0 | 7 |
7 | Lorient | 4 | 0 | 7 |
8 | Boulogne | 4 | -1 | 7 |
9 | Nancy | 4 | 3 | 6 |
10 | Rennes | 4 | 3 | 6 |
11 | Sochaux | 4 | -1 | 6 |
12 | Monaco | 4 | -2 | 6 |
13 | Toulouse | 4 | 0 | 4 |
14 | Le Mans | 4 | -2 | 4 |
15 | Nice | 4 | -5 | 4 |
16 | Valenciennes | 4 | -3 | 3 |
17 | St Etienne | 4 | -4 | 3 |
18 | Lille | 4 | -5 | 1 |
19 | Auxerre | 4 | -6 | 1 |
20 | Grenoble | 4 | -5 | 0 |
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