Marseille won at Sochaux to move second, while rock bottom Arles earned a point against Montpellier.
Gignac nets brace as Marseille come from behind to move second
Marseille won at Sochaux to move second, while rock bottom Arles earned a point against Montpellier.
Andre-Pierre Gignac netted a brace as
Marseille came from behind to beat
Sochaux to climb to second in the table, three points behind leaders Lille.
The Ligue 1 champions knew they were facing a difficult task against a Sochaux side who had picked up 24 of their 28 points at home this season.
Brown Ideye headed the hosts into the lead on 44 minutes, although he looked offside.
But Gignac had Marseille level in stoppage time. Steve Mandanda kicked a long ball to Lucho, who set Gignac free on the left of the area and he curled a right-footed shot into the bottom corner.
With just over 20 minutes to go, Gignac then settled the issue with a fine volley from a cross from the right by Loic Remy.
Lyon climbed the table after coming from behind to thump
Saint Etienne 4-1.
Carlos Bocanegra put the hosts ahead after 13 minutes but Bafetimbi Gomis levelled on 28 minutes.
Lyon then went ahead via a Moustapha Bayal own goal six minutes before the interval before second half goals from Michel Bastos (69) and substitute Jimmy Briand sealed the victory.
Goalless stalemate
Paris St Germain fell out of the top two after being held to a goalless stalemate by
Lens, who dropped to second from bottom despite the point.
Guillaume Hoarau saw his header come back off the woodwork in the first half, but that was as close as PSG came to scoring.
Meanwhile,
Montpellier picked up another point in their quest for European football with a goalless draw at basement side
Arles.
The visitors had the ball in the back of the net through Olivier Giroud, but referee Stephane Bre disallowed the effort with an offside decision which replays suggested was open to debate.
While picking up only their ninth point of the campaign, the result does little for Arles, who are 16 points from safety.
Romain Hamouma scored at the death as
Caen claimed a vital 2-1 win at
Bordeaux in their bid to climb away from trouble.
Hamouma headed home Thibault Moulin's cross to give Franck Dumas' side their fourth away win of the season after Kandia Traore had earlier given the visitors the lead before Anthony Modeste then equalised for the hosts.
Much needed
Monaco beat
Lorient 3-1 to earn a much needed three points, although the hosts remain in the relegation zone.
Goals from Igor Lolo (3), Thomas Mangani (56) and a late penalty from Chu Young Park (90) saw off the visitors, who replied via Kevin Gameiro on 22 minutes.
The win was sealed deep into stoppage-time as Jeremy Morel brought down Jean-Jacques Gosso, receiving a red card before Park converted the spot-kick.
Nancy eased their relegation concerns with a comprehensive 3-1 victory that inflicted more misery on an
Auxerre side whose winless streak extends back to mid-November.
The hosts swept into a two-goal lead inside the opening quarter-of-an-hour, with goals from Julien Feret and Alexandre Cuvillier.
Youssouf Hadji made it 3-0 early in the second half before Ireneusz Jelen scored Auxerre's consolation.
