Lille profit from Lyon lapse

LOSC Lille Métropole hauled themselves up into third spot in France courtesy of their fifth straight league success, a 3-0 triumph over Le Mans UC 72, with Olympique Lyonnais unable to unseat them as they drew 1-1 at AS Monaco FC.

Lyon rut
Lyon have now seized maximum points in just one of their last seven Ligue 1 outings, despite settling quicker than their hosts and taking a 22nd-minute lead when Michel Bastos fired in a powerful free-kick from 25 metres out. That forced Monaco to take more risks and following a spell of pressure they equalised through Chu-young Park, the South Korean international burying the ball after goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had failed to deal with a set-piece. The second half belonged to the principality outfit, with Yohan Mollo close to scoring on more than one occasion, though ultimately they appeared content with a draw.

Hazard effort
That certainly played into Lille's hands as it left Lyon in fourth, ten points below leaders FC Girondins de Bordeaux and one behind coach Claude Puel's old side, who overcame Le Mans thanks to three strikes in the opening half an hour. They even missed a penalty during that spell, Florent Balmont failing from the spot moments after Aurélien Chedjou had headed them into a 12th-minute lead. Gervinho added their second on 27 minutes and Eden Hazard weighed in with an exquisite individual strike two minutes later. In the day's other game, Roy Contout's last-gasp effort gave AJ Auxerre a 1-1 draw with Toulouse FC, though the seventh-placed side have now failed to win in their last five encounters.