Ribéry’s relief as Marseille go top

Key contribution
Ribéry, who considered a move to Olympique Lyonnais during the summer before being persuaded to stay at Marseille, opened the scoring moments before half-time and then set up the second for striker Toifilou Maoulida three minutes later. Auxerre, coached by former Marseille boss Jean Fernandez, were reduced to ten men when forward Kanga Akale was sent off, and Marseille’s Mickaël Pagis struck the third goal from close range with 20 minutes remaining. "Having scored is a relief," said Ribéry. "I've been through a difficult time. This pleases me and I hope it pleases the fans as well. Our goal is to finish in the top three and our good start to the season suggests we will be able to."

Le Mans recovery
Marseille have seven points from three games and they lead the table on goal difference from Le Mans UC 72, who recovered from two goals down to beat promoted Valenciennes FC 3-2, with Ismaël Bangoura scoring the winner ten minutes from time. LOSC Lille Métropole, who won their first two matches, dropped to third place after losing 1-0 at Paris Saint-Germain FC. PSG had Portugal striker Pauleta to thank for the winner, a superb free-kick after an hour. Lille went down to ten men four minutes later when Brazilian defender Rafael was sent off for a foul on Pauleta.

Monaco denied
AS Monaco FC looked set for their first win of the season after Czech striker Jan Koller gave them a 1-0 lead but Stade Rennais FC equalised four minutes from time through forward Jimmy Briand. In other matches, CS Sedan-Ardennes earned a point in a 1-1 draw with FC Sochaux-Montbéliard thanks to a late penalty by Yoann Lachor, while RC Lens-FC Lorient and FC Nantes Atlantique-ES Troyes Aube Champagne also finished 1-1. Ilan scored the only goal as AS Saint-Etienne won 1-0 against ten-man AS Nancy-Lorraine. FC Girondins de Bordeaux entertain champions Lyon on Sunday, when OGC Nice travel to Toulouse FC.