Rennes rise after Marseille are held

Stade Rennais FC are up to second place in Ligue 1 after securing a 1-0 win against Paris Saint-Germain FC while Olympique de Marseille drew 0-0 with Toulouse FC.

Marseille held
Leaders Olympique Lyonnais were held 0-0 by Valenciennes FC on Saturday at a soaked Stade de Gerland, heavy rain which meant the team in second prior to the weekend, OGC Nice, were unable to play their match against Grenoble Foot 38. Therefore the opportunity was there for Marseille to move to within four points of Lyon and overtake Nice, and while they achieved the latter of those objectives on goal difference with their point against Toulouse, they could not force the win.

Cheyrou winner
That left the chance for either Rennes or PSG to move a point ahead of Marseille and Nice. Bruno Cheyrou gave Rennes the lead just before half-time and although there were chances at both ends, the home side held on. PSG will hope to bounce back when they visit Manchester City FC on Wednesday in UEFA Cup Group A.

St-Etienne relief
AS Saint-Etienne have already booked their UEFA Cup Round of 32 berth and they are now out of the Ligue 1 relegation zone following a 2-1 win at another team well-placed in the European competition but struggling in the league, AS Nancy-Lorraine. St-Etienne were bottom following a run of seven straight Ligue 1 losses but Paulo Machado gave them the lead from an early free-kick and David Gigliotti made it two just before the break. Nancy lost goalkeeper Gennaro Bracigliano to a red card for a 56th-minute foul on Gigliotti, though Bafétimbi Gomis missed the resultant penalty and Issiar Dia reduced arrears with a quarter-hour remaining. The visitors held on for their first win under Alain Perrin and moved out of the bottom three, ahead of Le Havre AC, while Nancy remain 15th.