France round-up: Monaco continue Lyon hunt

AS Monaco FC returned to within two points of the top of Ligue 1 with a convincing 4-2 win at AC Ajaccio.

Tight at the top
The victory moved Monaco to within two points of champions Olympique Lyonnias, who were 1-0 winners at FC Girondins de Bordeaux on Friday night.

Early advantage
Monaco began in impressive fashion at Ajaccio, taking a three-goal lead inside the first 20 minutes. A mistake from Ajaccio defender David Terrier gave Monaco’s Shabani Nonda the opportunity to create the first goal for Ludovic Giuly after seven minutes, before Croatian international striker Dado Prso twice fnished swift counterattacks, scoring after 15 and 19 minutes.

Penalty converted
It was 4-0 after 26 minutes, as Nonda converted from the penalty spot after he had been brought down by Hervé Alicarte and, despite two goals in seven second-half minutes from Ajaccio’s Martial Robin and Grégory Lacombe, the home side, who lost Hoalid Regragui to a 52nd-minute red card for a foul on Patrica Evra, were unable to seriously threaten the visitors’ lead.

Marseille frustrated
Olympique de Marseille dropped off the pace at the top as they were held to a 0-0 draw at relegation-threatened ES Troyes Aube Champagne for a point which was of little help to either side. Marseille slipped four points behind Lyon, while Troyes remained bottom of the table.

Sochaux into fifth
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard moved into fifth place with a 2-0 win at struggling Montpellier Hérault SC. Sochaux were forced to withstand concerted pressure from the home side, but goals in either half from Pierre-Alain Frau and Santos, both rounding off rapid counterattacks, earned the away team all three points against the run of play.

Nice success
OGC Nice also maintained their challenge for a European place with a 1-0 win at home to AJ Auxerre, with Brazilian midfield player Everson scoring the only goal of the game. Nice moved above FC Nantes Atlantique, who were defeated 2-0 at RC Strasbourg, who won with goals at the end of either half from Yves Deroff and Corentina Martins.

Hopes fading
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain FC’s hopes of mounting a realistic challenge for a European place faded as they were defeated 1-0 at home by RC Lens, with Daniel Moreira converting an Olivier Thomert cross for the decisive goal early in the second half. 

Crucial win
At the bottom, Stade Rennais earned three important points with a narrow 1-0 win at Le Havre AC. François Grenet hit the post early in the game for the away side, but Frédéric Piquionne scored the winner after 28 minutes. Grenet was shown the red card after 57 minutes for a strong challenge on Florent Simana-Pongolle but Rennes goalkeeper Petr Cech stopped the resulting penalty and the away team held on.

Goalless game
The game between Lille OSC and CS Sedan-Ardennes ended goalless, while two goals from Didier Drogba and one from Christophe Le Roux gave En Avant Guingamp a 3-0 win at home to SC Bastia.