Nice fightback thwarts Bordeaux charge

FC Girondins de Bordeaux conceded twice in the final six minutes at OGC Nice to drop two valuable points in their pursuit of Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyonnais who drew 0-0 at AJ Auxerre.

Nice fightback
Lyon's failure to win in the league for the third successive game means they can lose the leadership to fellow UEFA Champions League contenders Olympique de Marseille, who host Paris Saint-Germain FC on Sunday. Yet, it looked like Laurent Blanc's Bordeaux would also crank up the pressure when they went 2-0 up in Nice thanks to goals in either half from Wendel (11) and a Fernando Cavenaghi penalty just before the hour mark. However, the scoring was not over and the hosts hit back late on through Eric Mouloungui (84) and a Loïc Rémy penalty in added time.

Pegged back
Third at the start of play, Le Mans UC 72 would have moved into second had they, like Bordeaux, also held on to a lead given to them by Mathieu Coutadeur's 33rd-minute penalty at Stade Rennais FC. Gervinho Kouassi (10) had given the visitors an early lead only for Jimmy Briand to level five minutes later and they looked set for their third win in as many games until a Mikaël Pagis equaliser 12 minutes from time. Toulouse FC drew 0-0 with AS Monaco FC to remain in fifth.

Lille denied
Sixth-placed LOSC Lille Métropole also lost a two-goal lead, at home to mid-table SM Caen. Ludovic Obraniak's double (9 & 39) put the northern side in a dominant position but Caen had other ideas and reduced the arrears just after half-time through Nicolas Seube before Steve Savidan levelled after 64 minutes. Elsewhere, struggling FC Lorient moved out of the bottom three following just their second win of the season, 3-0 at home to FC Nantes, while another struggling side, Le Havre AC, defeated Valenciennes FC 2-1 to move off the bottom.