Lyon defeat Paris Saint-Germain to take fourth place in Ligue 1

AFP - Lyon fought back from a goal down to beat 10-man Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 at the Stade Gerland on Sunday and move up to fourth in the table, breathing new life into their flagging campaign.
  
The seven-time champions were looking for a positive response after being knocked out of both domestic cup competitions earlier in the week but they fell behind to an early goal from Mevlut Erding.
  
The hosts struggled to establish any kind of foothold in the match but in the 60th minute the game changed when PSG centre-back Mamadou Sakho was shown a straight red card for a last-man foul on Bafetimbi Gomis.
  
Gomis brought Lyon level by lashing home a rebound following a corner in the 77th minute and three minutes later Cris rose above the Paris defence to send a looping header over Apoula Edel that completed the turnaround.
  
Lyon climb above Monaco and Auxerre to fourth, a point behind third-place Lille and nine behind leaders Bordeaux, while PSG remain 14th after their third straight league defeat.
  
Lyon coach Claude Puel had called on his side to bounce back from their cup heartache but they started lethargically and were caught cold when Erding touched home an 11th-minute corner from Sebastien Bassong.
  
Goalkeeper Remy Vercoutre then twice denied PSG's Guillaume Hoarau, first by blocking his low effort from the left and then by acrobatically turning a close-range header over the bar.
  
Lyon belatedly came to life at the end of the first half and Jeremy Toulalan saw a long-range effort take a deflection off Sammy Traore and roll against the left-hand post before Hoarau hacked clear.
  
Booed off at half-time by the home fans, Lyon almost fell 2-0 down early in the second period when Vercoutre was forced into two close-range saves by Erding after Hoarau's initial shot was blocked.
  
Sakho's dismissal handed Lyon a route back into the match and PSG's goal was soon under siege.
  
Edel saved athletically from Cesar Delgado and Gomis crashed a shot against the post, but the visitors' luck soon ran out and Gomis could have claimed a second when his thumping strike clipped the woodwork in injury time.
  
Auxerre boosted their bid for European football next season by beating relegation-threatened Saint-Etienne 1-0 at the Stade Abbe Deschamps.
  
Centre-back Jean Pascal Mignot scored the decisive goal 12 minutes from time when he dispatched Valter Birsa's right-wing corner at the near post.
  
The visitors appeared to have brought themselves level when Gonzalo Bergessio netted four minutes from the end but his strike was controversially ruled out for offside.
  
"I feel for Saint-Etienne, because they scored a valid goal that was not given by the referee," said Auxerre coach Jean Fernandez, whose side are now sixth.
  
"Saint-Etienne didn't deserve to lose, but that's football."
  
Valenciennes drew 1-1 at home to Sochaux, with Johan Audel's 21st-minute opener for the hosts cancelled out by Damien Perquis's equaliser nine minutes into the second period.
  
In Saturday's matches, leaders Bordeaux were held to a surprise 0-0 draw at home to second-bottom Boulogne, enabling second-placed Montpellier to move to within six points of the champions by beating Marseille 2-0.