Marseille denied by resilient Monaco

Olympique de Marseille fell four points behind Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyonnais after a goalless home draw with AS Monaco FC, the first ever such result at the Stade Vélodrome in the league between the two sides.

Ruffier heroics
France Under-21 goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier was the hero for Monaco making a handful of excellent saves as Marseille laid siege to the visitors' goal. OM's Senegalese international striker Mamadou Niang came closest to breaking the deadlock five minutes into the second half but he was denied by Ruffier who tipped his header on to the post.

PSG setback
Earlier in the evening, Paris Saint Germain FC's promising start to the season suffered a setback when they lost 1-0 at AS Saint-Etienne. Full-back Mouhamadou Dabo gave St-Etienne the points with a superb drive from outside the box in the 13th minute which PSG goalkeeper Mickaël Landreau got a hand to but could not prevent it going in. The victory lifts the home side out of the danger zone and up to 16th in the 20-team league. Fellow UEFA Cup contenders AS Nancy-Lorraine were also in action, drawing 0-0 at home against Stade Rennais FC, who had Petter Hansson sent off for a foul on Nancy playmaker Youssouf Hadji.