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Ligue 1 round-up

Image: Benzema: On target

Lyon stretched their lead at the top of the table to six points following a 2-0 victory over Lorient.

Lyon stretch lead at the top

Ligue 1 leaders Lyon stretched their lead at the top of the table to six points following a 2-0 victory over Lorient. With Bordeaux not in action, the win at the Stade De Gerland allows Alain Perrin's side to extend the margin at the summit. A goal from Hatem Ben Arfa gave Lyon the lead after 25 minutes and Karim Benzema then extended the advantage with 15 minutes remaining. With Bordeaux not in action, Nancy could have moved up the table but they were held to a 1-1 draw with Marseille. Three points would have seen Nancy move above Bordeaux on goal difference and kept up their pursuit of Lyon, but Jonathan Brison's 48th minute strike was ruled out by Samir Nasri three minutes from time. Paris Saint-Germain heaped more misery on bottom of the table Metz as they recorded a comfortable 3-0 home victory. Peguy Luyindula struck after five minutes as PSG, who are wary of being dragged into a relegation scrap themselves, took the lead. Jerome Rothen then added a second after 37 minutes and after half-time Amara Diane (56) made it three. Struggling Lens came from behind to record a shock 2-1 win over ten-man Valenciennes at the Stade Nungesser. The home side had taken the lead after 34 minutes when Steve Savidan struck. However one minute before the interval Lens, who sat in 17th position at kick-off, were back in the game when defender Da Hilton equalised. Things got worse for Valenciennes on 57 minutes when Guillaume Rippert received his second booking after already collecting a yellow card earlier in the half for dissent. And seven minutes later Lens made their numerical advantage count when substitute Kevin Monnet-Paquet hit the winner. Meanwhile, fellow strugglers Lille cruised to a 3-1 victory over Le Mans. Lille found themselves two goals in front before half-time at the Metropole stadium as Kevin Maralas (15) and Ludovic Obraniak (41) found the back of the net. After the interval Yohan Cabaye extended the lead as he hit home on 52 minutes to give Lille an unassailable lead. However, the home side were forced to see out the final half-an-hour with ten men as Stephen Lichtsteiner received his marching orders for two bookings and Hassan Yebda hit an 87th minute consolation. Elsewhere, Strasbourg overtook Toulouse and climbed the table with a 2-0 win at the Stade De La Meinau. Kevin Gameiro netted after 22 minutes and Renaud Cohade added a second on the stroke of full-time. Caen failed to maintain the pace with the league leaders as they were held to a 0-0 home draw with Auxerre. The visitors are struggling at the bottom of the table and struggled to the Stade Michel D'ornano intent on avoiding defeat and Caen could not find a way through. Monaco moved into fifth position with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Sochaux at the Stade Louis II Stadium. With Valenciennes slumping to defeat and Caen drawing, substitute Frederic Piquionne's 77th minue strike was enough to move his side up the table. Two goals in two second half minutes left honours even between Rennes and Nice. Rennes had taken the lead when Jimmy Briand fired them in front on 50 minutes, but Anthony Modeste hit an equaliser two minutes later. Caen 0 Auxerre 0 Lille 3 Le Mans 1 Lyon 2 Lorient 0 Monaco 1 Sochaux 0 Nancy 1 Marseille 1 PSG 3 Metz 0 Rennes 1 Nice 1 Strasbourg 2 Toulouse 0 Valenciennes 1 Lens 2

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