Stade Brestois 29 held onto top spot in Ligue 1 despite being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Sochaux on Saturday, as Olympique de Marseille missed the chance to gain ground in a 1-1 draw with Lens.
Victory for Marseille would have taken them to within a point of Brest and Stephane Mbia set them on the right track in the sixth minute when he headed home after Gabriel Heinze dummied Lucho Gonzalez’s corner.
The hosts, beaten 2-1 at archrivals Paris Saint-Germain in their previous league outing, had plenty of chances to press home their advantage, with striker Andre-Pierre Gignac notably profligate in front of goal.
Photo: AFP
Gignac failed to hit the target three times when well placed and shortly before the hour Lens drew level, with Eduardo lashing home on the half-volley after the ball fell kindly for him in the penalty area.
The draw allowed third-bottom Lens to extend their unbeaten run to five matches and enabled them to move level on points with the teams immediately above the relegation zone.
Brest’s eight-game run without conceding a goal came to an end in a 3-1 defeat at Lille last weekend and they fell behind in the 22nd minute at home to Sochaux when Ideye Brown fired home from the left side of the area.
However, France under-21 striker Nolan Roux pounced to volley home an equalizer from a well-worked corner seven minutes before halftime to keep the promoted side a point clear at the summit.
A hat-trick from Moussa Sow set Lille up for a 5-2 victory at Stade Malherbe Caen that sent them up to second and took the Senegalese striker level with Caen goalscorer Youssef El Arabi on nine goals at the top of the scoring charts.
Montpellier are third, level on points with Lille, after Olivier Giroud’s first-half header secured a 1-0 win at home to Toulouse.
Girondins de Bordeaux moved up to seventh by beating Nancy 2-1 at the Stade Chaban Delmas, but their winning goal was awarded in farcical circumstances.
After Ludovic Sane’s opener for the hosts had been canceled out by Paul Alo’o Efoulou, Bordeaux won a free-kick wide on the left in the 90th minute.
Jaroslav Plasil’s inswinging delivery struck the right-hand post and bounced back to Wendel, who appeared to handle the ball before seeing his shot blocked by visiting goalkeeper Damien Gregorini.
The ball had come nowhere near crossing the line, but referee Varela Bartolomeu awarded a goal, before turning toward the halfway-line pursued by irate and disbelieving Nancy players.
“We conceded this goal due to an injustice, it’s a huge disappointment,” Nancy defender Alfred N’Diaye said.
The defeat means Nancy drop into the relegation zone, with Monaco moving in the other direction after a goalless draw at home to bottom club Arles-Avignon.
Valenciennes’ home game with Saint-Etienne was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch following heavy rain in northern France.
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