Lyon march on towards French title

Olympique Lyonnais had enough fortitude to overcome a spirited Paris Saint-Germain FC comeback in their 4-2 win at Stade de Gerland while the threat of relegation still hangs over RC Lens following their 3-1 defeat by Stade Rennais FC.

In-form Fred
Brazilian striker Fred took his recent tally to six goals in five league games with two strikes in the opening 35 minutes but PSG threw themselves a lifeline on the stroke of half-time when Zoumana Camara pulled one back. Seven minutes after the resumption an unlikely equaliser arrived when Jérôme Rothen converted a penalty but Lyon demonstrated their resilience again to take the points.

Growing gap
Mathieu Bodmer released Sidney Govou midway through the second half to put the hosts back in front and Juninho Pernambucano finally ended the capital club's resistance five minutes later with a crisp volley. Lyon's victory, coupled with nearest rivals FC Girondins de Bordeaux's 3-1 reverse at Valenciennes FC yesterday, moved Alain Perrin's side nine points clear with just eight games remaining. PSG are in the relegation zone after FC Sochaux-Montbéliard climbed out of the bottom three with a 1-0 win at Olympique de Marseille on Saturday.

Struggling Lens
Lens also remain in peril after their reverse at Rennes left them one place and two points above the relegation zone. The home side made the perfect start when Jérôme Leroy gave them a tenth-minute lead but Toifilou Maoulida gave the visitors hope with the equaliser just past the half-hour mark. Lens could not hold on until half-time as Mickaël Pagis restored the hosts' lead and Olivier Thomert secured the victory ten minutes after the restart to move Rennes into the top half of the table.