Purring Lyon leave rivals standing

In-form Olympique Lyonnais won 4-0 for the third game in succession as they extended their advantage at the Ligue 1 summit to eleven points after second-placed FC Girondins de Bordeaux were held to a 1-1 draw at ES Troyes AC.

Wiltord double
Lyon went into their match away to struggling FC Sochaux-Montbéliard on the back of consecutive four-goal victories against PSV Eindhoven and FC Metz and it was a case of business as usual at the Stade Bonal. Sylvain Wiltord broke the deadlock with a fine solo effort midway through the first half, before former Sochaux favourite Benoît Pedretti added a second just prior to the interval - his first goal since joining the champions last summer. Wiltord sealed the points with a header soon after the restart and Florent Malouda completed the rout just before the hour.

Bordeaux blunted
The win will surely give Ligue 2 leaders SC Bastia, who face Lyon in the French Cup on Tuesday, food for thought, and Bordeaux will also be in reflective mood after they were held in Troyes. It started well for the visitors as Jean-Claude Darcheville handed them the lead on the half-hour mark, but Troyes midfielder Benjamin Nivet replied before the interval and a second Bordeaux goal proved elusive. They nevertheless increased their advantage over nearest rivals LOSC Lille Métropole, who face Olympique de Marseille on Sunday, to six points.

Ajaccio lift
Fourth-placed AJ Auxerre travel to Paris Saint-Germain FC on Sunday, and will be looking nervously over their shoulders after in-form Stade Rennais FC made it 15 points from their last five games with a 1-0 win against ten-man Metz. Defeat consigned Joël Muller's team to the foot of the table after Moussa N'Diaye's early strike earned AC Ajaccio only their fifth win of the season against AS Monaco FC in Corsica. Elsewhere, the games between Le Mans UC 72 and FC Nantes Atlantique, and Toulouse FC and RC Lens both ended all-square.

Tempestuous encounter
The Stade Du Ray hosted a dress rehearsal for April's French League Cup final and AS Nancy-Lorraine will hope for more success at the Stade de France after losing 1-0 in a tempestuous encounter with OGC Nice. The turning point came a minute after half-time when André Luiz was dismissed after picking up his second yellow card. The home team soon took advantage, Bakary Koné scoring what proved to be the winner nine minutes later.