Rennes profit from Marseille's demise

By Chris Burke

Stade Rennais FC will go into the last day of the Ligue 1 season in the UEFA Cup spot after a 4-0 victory over RC Strasbourg took them above Olympique de Marseille, who lost 1-0 to Olympique Lyonnais. At the bottom of the table, SM Caen dragged themselves out of the danger zone with a 3-2 win over Toulouse FC.

Blistering Rennes
Rennes have one foot in Europe next year thanks to a blistering performance which took them up to fourth in the standings, their highest position since the first day of the season. Toifilou Maoulida got matters underway in the 43rd minute, before Etienne Didot slid in the second on 59 minutes and Alexander Frei netted his 20th of the campaign immediately afterwards. Mickaël Pagis was then sent off for the visitors and Kim Källström compounded their misery with goal number four five minutes from the end.

Marseille slump
The Brittany outfit hold a one-point advantage over Marseille, who succumbed in their last home game this term to a spectacular individual effort from Juninho Pernambucano. Rennes's other rivals for the UEFA Cup berth, AJ Auxerre, were also beaten, as Victor Agali's first goal since November handed OGC Nice a precious 1-0 triumph that guarantees their top-flight survival.

Monaco hope
In the battle for the second UEFA Champions League automatic place, AS Monaco FC pulled themselves within two points of LOSC Lille Métropole thanks to Sébastien Squillaci's added-time equaliser in a 1-1 draw away to FC Girondins de Bordeaux. For their part, Lille suffered only their second home defeat of the season as relegation-threatened AC Ajaccio picked up a 2-0 win that lifted them up to 16th, one point above the bottom three.

Caen comeback
Also breathing a bit more easily this evening are Caen, who came back from 2-0 away to Toulouse to earn a vital victory with three late goals. Sébastien Mazure began the comeback with 20 minutes remaining and Aziz Ben Askar and Cédric Hengbart completed the process to leave the Normandy side now controlling their own destiny. SC Bastia's 3-1 win at home to RC Lens was their fourth in a row, but they remain in danger in 18th.

Nantes fears
One spot behind them, FC Nantes Atlantique dropped into the relegation places for the first time this term after losing 1-0 to ten-man FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, Aléxis Thébaux putting into his own net before Wilson Oruma saw red for the hosts. Elsewhere, FC Metz beat Paris Saint-Germain FC 3-2 and already-relegated FC Istres went down 2-0 away to AS Saint-Etienne.