Malouda strikes as Lyon march on

Olympique Lyonnais stretched their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to 14 points on Sunday thanks to a 1-0 victory against AJ Auxerre at the Stade Gerland.

Winter champions
The win means Lyon are sure to reach the winter break, which begins on 23 December, top of the league. "I know that's important for a lot of people here, but I really don't care," Lyon coach Gérard Houllier said. "The aim is to be ahead at the end of the season. We didn't play as well as we did against [Real] Mardid [CF] on Tuesday but we did hit the crossbar twice."

Malouda winner
Florent Malouda got the only goal of the game on 25 minutes when he headed in Juninho's free-kick as Lyon picked up their 13th win in 15 games to pull even further clear of their nearest rivals. RC Lens missed the chance to move up to second when they were held 1-1 away to Le Mans UC 72. And there was also disappointment for fifth-place AS Nancy-Lorraine who were unable to make ground on the leading pack after falling to a 1-0 defeat away to Valenciennes FC.

PSG draw
Also on Sunday Paris Saint-Germain FC drew 1-1 with fellow strugglers FC Nantes Atlantique. PSG's Ivory Coast forward Bonaventure Kalou struck from the edge of the area two minutes into the game in Nantes but the home side levelled against the run of play on 76 minutes through captain Frederic Da Rocha. PSG climb one spot to 13th while Nantes remain third from bottom.