Bordeaux stretch lead after victory over Paris

French Ligue 1 title holder Bordeaux has defeated Paris and remains on top of the championship. A few days before their big Champions League game against Madrid, Marseille (photo) has enjoyed a 3-1 away win over Nice.

AFP - Bordeaux edged Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to stretch their lead at the top of the French league to four points on Saturday, after Marseille took the spoils against Nice in the Mediterranean derby.
  
Laurent Blanc's defending champions welcomed back France international playmaker Yoann Gourcuff after a three-match absence and they took a 24th-minute lead when Jaroslav Plasil converted Benoit Tremoulinas's centre with a well-placed header.
  
Jean-Eudes Maurice came closest to an equaliser for the away side, firing through the legs of Bordeaux goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso and narrowly wide of the far post, after entering as a first-half substitute for Mevlut Erding.
  
Title rivals Lyon and Auxerre are now five points behind Bordeaux and will look to close the gap when they play on Sunday, with Lyon visiting Lille and Auxerre hosting Nice.
  
Goals from Mamadou Niang, Lucho Gonzalez and Bakary Kone earlier earned Marseille a 3-1 victory over 10-man local rivals Nice that lifted them up to seventh place, with a game in hand on many of the sides above them.
  
Niang's opener was cancelled out by Kafoumba Coulibaly shortly after the half hour but Lucho volleyed home Niang's knockdown on 76 minutes before substitute Kone sealed victory with an adroit finish four minutes from time.
  
A moment of madness from Onyekachi Apam saw the hosts reduced to 10 men on the stroke of half-time after the Nigerian centre-back was sent off for headbutting Gabriel Heinze.
  
"I think that, on the whole, we were more in control than them, even if it's true that with 11 against 10 it was a bit easier for us," said Marseille midfielder Benoit Cheyrou.
  
"The substitutes who came on give us a lot, which proves that we've got a good squad."
  
A sublime chip from 20-year-old Karim Ait Fana set Montpellier on their way to a 2-1 win over third-bottom Le Mans, who had Mathieu Dossesvi sent off two minutes before the interval for two bookable offences.
  
Montpellier moved up to second place and retain a game in hand on Bordeaux following the postponement of their match at Monaco last weekend due to a swine flu scare at the promoted club.
  
French forward Moussa Sow's third-minute goal was enough to give Rennes a 1-0 win at home to Lorient, while the goalscoring return of the league's top marksman Nene was not enough to prevent Monaco from losing 3-1 at Valenciennes, who rose to third in the standings.
  
Saint-Etienne's game at home to Sochaux ended goalless, extending the gap between Les Verts and the relegation zone to six points.
  
In Sunday's other matches, Lens visit fellow new boys Boulogne and rock bottom Grenoble host Toulouse as they continue their long quest for a first win of the season.

Date created : 2009-12-06