James Rodríguez helps Monaco match Paris

James Rodríguez struck twice as AS Monaco FC triumphed 2-0 at SC Bastia to return to within five points of Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

Laurent Blanc's charges swept past lowly Valenciennes FC 3-0 on Friday, but the pressure served only to elicit a positive response from second-placed Monaco, who prevailed in Corsica thanks to James Rodríguez's first league goals of 2014.

The Colombia international whipped in a powerful free-kick from the edge of the area to open the scoring on the cusp of half-time. He capped an irresistible personal performance with 14 minutes to go, driving at goal from the halfway line and drilling in from 18 metres.

Nicolas de Preville scored the only goal as Stade de Reims beat FC Girondins de Bordeaux to move level on points with fifth-placed Olympique de Marseille, who travel to AS Saint-Étienne on Sunday. FC Sochaux-Montbéliard matched that 1-0 scoreline at home against struggling EA Guingamp to boost their survival prospects.

January signing Ola Toivonen scored twice in Stade Rennais FC's 2-2 draw at home to Montpellier Hérault SC. Toulouse FC took advantage of Alain Traoré's 24th-minute dismissal to leapfrog FC Lorient with a 3-1 away win, Wissam Ben Yedder and Martin Braithwaite both bagging their seventh goals of the season. OGC Nice, meanwhile, were held to a goalless draw by FC Nantes.