Leaders Lyon back on track

By Chris Burke

Olympique Lyonnais got straight back to winning ways with a 2-1 win at home to Stade Rennais FC, and their Ligue 1 lead stretched to five points after ten-man LOSC Lille Métropole were held 1-1 away to OGC Nice.

Quick response
Just three days after Lille inflicted their first defeat of the season, two goals in two minutes put Lyon back on track for a fourth consecutive league title. The French champions initially had trouble coping with Rennes' quick, pressing style and were relieved when Bryan Bergougnoux broke the deadlock in the 44th minute. Sidney Govou doubled the advantage almost immediately, with Olivier Monterrubio scoring a late consolation for the Brittany club, who earlier had Etienne Didot sent off.

Lille frustration
Claude Puel's Lille had looked certain to keep up the pressure at the top after Milenko Acimovic's 37th-minute penalty put them in front at Nice. Despite having Efstathios Tavlaridis dismissed in the second half, Lille were rarely troubled until José Cobos produced what may prove to be a very significant equaliser with the last kick of the game.

Chasing pack
AS Monaco FC will have to wait their chance to respond as their game at RC Strasbourg was postponed due to a frozen pitch, but AJ Auxerre recorded a 4-1 home victory against SC Bastia that took them up into third, just two points behind Lille. Frédéric Née put the Corsican side ahead, only for Auxerre to hit back with two goals from Benjani Mwaruwari and one each for Kanga Akalé and Bonaventure Kalou.

Ajaccio exploits
That result put Bastia back in the relegation zone, while AC Ajaccio and SM Caen both climbed out of the bottom three with 1-0 wins. Waldir Lucas Pereira got the only goal as Ajaccio saw off sixth-placed Toulouse FC and Sébastien Mazure gave Caen a rare away win against RC Lens.

Istres comeback
FC Istres remained bottom of the table but picked up an excellent point away to Paris Saint-Germain FC. Hélder and Pauleta got the capital club's first goals this year before Istres fought back through new signing Ibrahima Bakayoko and Steven Pelé. Elsewhere, FC Girondins de Bordeaux defeated FC Metz 1-0, while FC Nantes Atlantique and AS Saint-Etienne drew 0-0.