Montpellier restores lead at top of Ligue 1

Souleymane Camara put the visitors in front midway through the first half and
the lead was doubled shortly after the break by an own goal from goalkeeper
Benoit Costil of Rennes.

The loss is the second straight for Rennes after a four-game winning streak,
but the club still remains in fifth place, while Montpellier is three points
clear of second-place PSG with two games to go.

Rennes came within inches of taking the lead when a scissors kick from
Jonathan Pitroipa struck the crossbar, only for Camara to put Montpellier in
front after a poor clearance from Rennes defender John Boye.

The visitors took control of the match in the 52nd minute when Remy Cabella’s
25-yard effort came back off the post and struck Costil in the back,
redirecting the ball over the line.

Rennes continued to press the action with Pitroipa threatening on numerous
occasions, but Montpellier goalkeeper Geoffrey Jourdren was up to the task.

Lille 3, Caen 0

Lille, France – Lille secured a top-three finish on Monday as Tulio De Melo
scored a pair of goals in the first half to lead the club to a 3-0 win over
Caen.

De Melo fired Lille in front midway through the first half from the penalty
spot after Eden Hazard was brought down inside the area by goalkeeper Alexis
Thebaux.

A Hazard corner kick 10 minutes later led to Lille’s second goal as De Melo
got up to head the ball home.

The win was then secured on the hour mark when Dimitri Payet tracked down a
long ball from Hazard and curled a shot past Thebaux.

Caen offered little in attack and sits three points above the drop zone with
two games to go while Lille can still retain its title but is five points back
of leaders Montpellier.

Bordeaux 4, Auxerre 2

Auxerre, France – Bordeaux secured its fourth straight win on Monday as Yoan
Gouffran scored twice in the opening five minutes of a 4-2 win over Auxerre,
which drops the home side to the bottom of Ligue 1.

The win moves Bordeaux into seventh place while Auxerre sits on the bottom of
the league but is only two points from safety with two matches remaining.

The visitors put the game away early as Ludovic Sane scored in the ninth
minute after Gouffran’s double, putting Bordeaux up 3-0 inside of 10 minutes.

Jaroslav Plasil further extended the advantage early in the second half before
two goals from Olivier Kapo reduced the deficit.

Lorient 0, Dijon 0

Lorient, France – Dijon snapped a five-game losing streak on Monday with a 0-0
draw against Lorient, but remains in 19th place and one point from safety with
the result.

Lorient stays four points above the drop zone after collecting a point in
Monday’s game despite failing to register a shot on target.

Dijon had the better of the chances but Lorient goalkeeper Jeremie Janot made
sure his team got something from the match as he saved a free kick from Eric
Bautheac in the first half before stopping Bennard Kumordzi in the final 10
minutes.

St Etienne 0, Marseille 0

Saint Etienne, France – St Etienne’s European hopes remained intact despite a
0-0 home draw with Marseille on Monday.

The result leaves St Etienne level with Rennes in fifth place for the final
European spot, but the hosts will feel a bit unlucky not to have claimed three
points.

St Etienne’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the most dangerous man for either
team as he struck the crossbar midway through the first half before firing
narrowly wide in the game’s final minutes.

Marseille remains comfortably in the middle of the league, out of European
contention but safe from the relegation scrap.

Sochaux 1, Nancy 0

Sochaux, France – Sochaux’s survival hopes got a major boost on Monday as
Sebastien Roudet scored five minutes from time to hand the home side a 1-0 win
over Nancy that lifts them off the bottom of the league.

Sochaux had lost its last three games to slip to the bottom, but the win
allows the club to jump out of the bottom three after a loss from Auxerre and
a draw by Dijon on Monday.

Nancy’s winless streak has now reached five games but the club has still
managed to secure its safety with a seven-point lead on the bottom three and
just two games to play.

The difference in the match came in the 85th minute when a poor pass from
Nancy’s Bakaye Traore allowed Roudet to get into the penalty area and lob a
shot over the head of goalkeeper Guy N’Dy.

Toulouse 0, Nice 0

Toulouse, France – Nice edged one point further from the drop zone on Monday
with a 0-0 away draw against Toulouse.

Both sides came close to opening the scoring in the first half as Nice saw
Kafoumba Coulibaly strike the post with a shot from the edge of the penalty
area.

But Toulouse began to slowly get into the game and was unfortunate to see a
well-struck shot from Adrien Regattin rattle the crossbar.

Toulouse remains in contention for a place in Europe but fell to eighth with
the result.