Steady Sochaux climb continues

FC Sochaux Montbéliard continued their run of sparkling form by recording a 3-0 away win against RC Lens at the weekend to move to within a point of Ligue 1's third-placed side Paris Saint-Germain FC.

Santos double
Brazilian Santos was the Sochaux hero, scoring either side of Jérémy Mathieu's 75th-minute goal to wrap up his side's fifth consecutive league victory. Guy Lacombe's side sit in fourth with a game in hand on PSG, who could only manage a 1-1 draw against Stade Rennais FC. Fabrice Fiorèse had put the capital club into the lead but an equaliser from Switzerland striker Alexander Frei 16 minutes from time forced PSG to settle for a share of the spoils.

Cissé winner
Djibril Cissé scored the winning goal for fifth-placed AJ Auxerre in their away game against AC Ajaccio. Philippe Mexès met Yann Laucher's free-kick with a venomous volley to open the scoring but the home side got back on level terms through Mamadou Bagayoko's second-half strike. Cissé, who was handed a five-match international suspension by the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body on Friday, rounded Ajaccio goalkeeper Stéphane Trévisan for the winner on 64 minutes. 

Nice victory
OGC Nice moved up to eighth with a 2-1 win of their own against Montpellier Hérault SC on Sunday. Goals from Christophe Meslin and Lilian Laslandes gave the homeside a comfortable advantage although they endured a nervous last five minutes after Montpellier's Habib Bamogo had been fouled in the area and duly converted the spot-kick.

Drought ended
RC Strasbourg are a place below Nice in tenth after leapfrogging opponents SC Bastia by virtue of their 4-2 victory at La Meinau. Despite a goal in each half from Bastia's Youssef Hadji, who took his tally to four in three games, Strasbourg's win was never in doubt. Danijel Ljuboja opened the scoring and Ulrich Le Pen doubled the home side's lead on 38 minutes. Mamadou Niang and Fabrice Ehret scored the other goals as Strasbourg ended their run of six Ligue 1 games without a win in fine style.

Basement battles
It was a tale of two penalties at the Du Ray where FC Nantes Atlantique were held to a 1-1 draw by basement club Toulouse FC. A foul on Marama Vahirua brought the home side a 20th-minute spot-kick, which Nicolas Gillet converted - but on the stroke of half-time a penalty was awarded at the other end for handball. Nicolas Dieuze scored from the spot, but Toulouse nevertheless fell further adrift at the basement as second-bottom Le Mans UC 72 recorded a crucial 2-0 triumph against fellow strugglers EA Giungamp thanks to goals from Daniel Cousin and Philippe Celdran. FC Girondins de Bordeaux also won at home, seeing off Lille OSC by the odd goal in three.