Auxerre close the gap on Marseille

Auxerre closed the gap on French leaders Marseille to just two points on Sunday with a 3-0 canter at Toulouse, but the southerners were set to streak clear in the late game with a victory over St Etienne.

As reigning champions Bordeaux have slumped in recent weeks – Saturday’s loss to Lorient left Laurent Blanc’s side in sixth place, 11 points off the pace, two behind Champions League semi-finalists Lyon – so Auxerre have slipped into top gear.

And Sunday’s success took Jean Fernandez’s side on to 66 points from 34 games, heating up the title battle with four games to go as Marseille target their first crown in 18 years.

Auxerre, who won the domestic double in 1996 under former coach Guy Roux, are on a hot streak right now with eight wins and three draws in their last 11 outings – though that run of form will be tested next week when they take on the leaders.

After an early spell of Toulouse pressure Auxerre turned on the style after the break and Benoit Pedretti’s freekick two minutes after the restart broke the deadlock.

Secure in the knowledge that on the 18 occasions they have drawn first blood this season, they have not lost Auxerre then tightened their grip.

After keeper Olivier Sorin had saved well from Turkish international Colin Kazim-Richards on the hour, Polish striker Ireneusz Jelen smashed a fierce drive past Toulouse keeper Olivier Blondel in the 68th minute.

Jelen then wrapped things up with a neat finish after Valter Birsa set him up with 11 minutes left to give Auxerre fans the chance to dream of a possible second title success if they can win next week’s battle at the Stade Abbe Deschamps.

Auxerre defender Adama Coulibaly said the club would have to work furiously if they are to overhaul Marseille.

“Marseille will be a tough match – but there are four games to go and we’ll take them one at a time. People aren’t talking about us much and that will help us.”

Bordeaux’s fourth loss in five games meanwhile had Blanc lamenting that luck appears to have deserted his side, whose recent slump coincided with their European exit to Lyon – who must in turn turn around their 1-0 Champions League semi-final deficit against Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

“We lacked a little bit of luck, in the first half notably,” said Blanc. “But nothing’s going right for us now.”

Lille have a whiff of a shot at the Champions League, meanwhile, after moving into third place after a 2-1 win Saturday at third-bottom Le Mans.

French Cup finalists Paris Saint-Germain are still on the road to nowhere in the league at least after a 1-1 home draw with Rennes at the Parc des Princes left them 10th.

In Sunday’s other early game, Lens, champions in 1998, are all but safe after a 1-1 draw with Valenciennes which left the “blood and gold” 12 points clear of the drop zone with Le Mans and Boulogne looking odds-on to join Grenoble in falling through the trap door.