Montpellier continue to set the pace

Montpellier Hérault stretched their Ligue 1 lead to three points following a 2-1 victory against relegation-threatened FC Sochaux-Montbéliard.

René Girard's charges had to dig deep after Modibo Maïga (28) cancelled out Younés Belhanda's fourth-minute opener, Souleymane Camara's seventh league goal of the season (56) proving decisive. The hosts held out and Paris Saint-Germain FC now need to overcome Olympique de Marseille on Easter Sunday to stay in touch with their title rivals.

A win would have kept third-placed LOSC Lille Métropole within a point of Carlo Ancelotti's team but instead they endured a painful end to their three-match winning run when losing at Stade Brestois 29, who were two goals to the good inside the opening ten minutes. Though Dimitri Payet halved the deficit, Alexandre Alphonse (52) made it 3-1 and the dismissal of Túlio De Melo (69) put paid to any hopes of a comeback.

Fourth-placed Olympique Lyonnais moved to within three points of Lille as Lisandro converted two penalties to defeat bottom side AJ Auxerre 2-1. Elsewhere, sixth-placed Stade Rennais FC's 3-1 defeat of Évian Thonon Gaillard moved them to within two points of ten-man Toulouse FC, who succumbed 2-0 at Valenciennes FC, AS Nancy-Lorraine also won 2-0 at Dijon FCO and AC Ajaccio drew 1-1 with AS Saint-Étienne.