Olympique Lyonnais jumped four places to eighth in Ligue 1 on Sunday, their highest position of the season so far, after a 1-0 win at home to an unadventurous Nice side.
Young winger Jeremy Pied put Lyon ahead in the 30th minute when he volleyed in Yoann Gourcuff’s cross.
The hosts won a dubious penalty shortly afterwards, after Bafetimbi Gomis went down easily in the box, but Michel Bastos’ spot-kick was pushed onto the post by Nice goalkeeper David Ospina.
PHOTO: AFP
Pied’s goal proved sufficient, however, and allowed Claude Puel’s team to close to within three points of leaders Stade Brestois 29.
Earlier, a last-minute goal from in-form Brazilian forward Nene earned Paris Saint-Germain a 1-1 draw at Lorient that moved the side from the capital up to fourth.
Kevin Gameiro had already hit the bar for Lorient with a delicate lob, before the unmarked Lynel Kitambala pounced at a corner in the 32nd minute to put them ahead.
PSG felt they should have had a penalty when Mevlut Erding fell under a challenge from Jeremy Morel and moments later it took a finger-tip save from Gregory Coupet to deny Sigamary Diarra and keep Paris in the game.
Coupet’s save acquired greater significance in the final minute, when Nene controlled Bodmer’s header across goal, before firing into the bottom-right corner to rescue a point for Antoine Kombouare’s men.
There were worrying scenes on the PSG bench when France international striker Hoarau collapsed in the aftermath of Nene’s equalizer.
“Guillaume banged his head in the first half,” Kombouare said. “He carried on playing on the adrenaline, but it swelled up. It’s better now though.”
Liverpool coach Roy Hodgson was at Auxerre’s home game with Stade Rennais on an apparent scouting mission, but he had to wait until the hosts took the lead in the 67th minute for a disappointing game to come to life.
Slovenian forward Valter Birsa picked the ball up in midfield, before jinking past Kader Mangane and bending a sublime shot into the top-left corner with the inside of his left foot.
Rennes hit back immediately, Jires Kembo Ekoko lashing home from close range after his initial header struck the post, but there was a sting in the tale for the would-be league leaders.
Roy Contout charged into the Rennes box in the 86th minute and although he was felled by goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez, substitute Franck Quercia was on hand to tuck home the winner from a tight angle.
Both PSG and Rennes had been hoping to end the day at the top of the table, instead they swapped places, with PSG climbing to fourth and Rennes dropping to fifth.
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