De Melo lifts Lille four points clear
Saturday, January 29, 2011
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LOSC Lille Métropole remain clear at the top of Ligue 1 courtesy of a narrow win against RC Lens as Paris Saint-Germain FC kept up the pressure with a victory at AC Arles-Avignon.
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LOSC Lille Métropole restored their four-point gap at the top of Ligue 1 with a narrow win against RC Lens after second-placed Paris Saint-Germain FC persevered with a victory of their own at AC Arles-Avignon.
The league leaders came through after Túlio De Melo scored the only goal (68) ten minutes after coming off the bench. That restored their advantage over PSG, who had moved to within a point earlier in the day with a 2-1 win at Arles thanks to Mevlüt Erdinç's double (17, 49).
Olympique Lyonnais and Stade Rennais FC slipped three points behind PSG, however, after losing at Valenciennes FC and FC Sochaux-Montbéliard respectively. Lyon succumbed to second-half strikes by Milan Biševac and Grégory Pujol but it was even worse for Rennes, who were overwhelmed 5-1 at Sochaux. Modibo Maiga's efforts (19, 85) sandwiched goals by Marvin Martin (43), Ideye Brown (52) and a Ryad Boudebouz penalty (73), which ensued goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez's dismissal.
Elsewhere, two goals from Bakary Sako (18, 32) earned AS Saint-Étienne a 2-1 victory over Toulouse FC, Kevin Gameiro followed suit in FC Lorient's 2-0 success against Stade Brestois 29, while SM Caen won by the same scoreline at home to AJ Auxerre.
