Luyindula returns to haunt Lyon

AJ Auxerre's Péguy Luyindula continued his knack of scoring against his former employers as Olympique Lyonnais were held to a 1-1 draw at the Stade Gerland. Former Lyon striker Luyindula had scored against the perennial French champions with Olympique de Marseille, and repeated the trick as he came off the bench to grab a late equaliser.

Santini gameplan
Another ex-Lyon man, Auxerre coach Jacques Santini, started with only one striker on the pitch – Luigi Pieroni – and Luyindula on the bench, but his defensive gameplan was undone two minutes before half-time when Mahamadou Diarra inadvertently found the net with what looked like a pass to Sylvain Wiltord.

Lyon overstretched
With an hour gone, Luyindula entered the fray, but was unable to halt the seemingly one-way traffic towards the Auxerre goal. However, Lyon overstretched, and with two minutes to play Pieroni and Luyindula surged forward on the break and the latter ensured his former team-mates dropped points for the first time in 2006.

Gapke seizes chance
Earlier on Sunday, neither RC Lens nor AS Monaco FC were able to claim their first win of the year in a tight 1-1 draw at the Stade Félix Bollaert. With new signings Christian Vieri and Marco Di Vaio out with stomach bugs, Monaco coach Francesco Guidolin handed Serge Gakpe a rare start, and the 18-year-old responded with a superb strike on six minutes.

Dindane tribute
Lens were without suspended forward Daniel Cousin, and struggled to create chances until Nicolas Gillet levelled from close range before half-time. Lens' muted celebrations were a tribute to team-mate Aruna Dindane, whose daughter died on Thursday. Both sides risk losing touch in the race for UEFA Champions League places, and now lie eight and nine points respectively behind second-placed FC Girondins de Bordeaux.