Auxerre, Marseille profit from Lyon-Lille stalemate

Auxerre went top of the French league by winning 1-0 at Nancy on Sunday, but Marseille remain in pole position for the title after Lyon were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Lille.

Romanian forward Daniel Niculae smashed home Auxerre’s winner in the 88th minute to send Jean Fernandez’s championship outsiders a point clear of previous leaders Marseille, who have two games in hand.

Champions League semi-finalists Lyon had goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to thank for keeping them in the game at the Stade Gerland before the France international was beaten by a deflected strike from Pierre-Alain Frau in the 62nd minute.

Lille had defender Ricardo Costa sent off minutes later after he received a second yellow card and home captain Cris headed home from the resulting free-kick to level the score.

Lyon conceded their numerical advantage with 12 minutes remaining when defensive midfielder Maxime Gonalons was dismissed after he, too, was cautioned for the second time following a dangerous foul on Rio Mavuba.

Lyon, who will face Bayern Munich in the Champions League last four after knocking out Bordeaux on Wednesday, remain third on 58 points, level with Montpellier, who fall to fourth on goal difference.

Lille stay sixth, five points shy of Auxerre, as the battle for a top-three finish and a place in next season’s Champions League threatens to go down to the final weekend of the season.

Marseille, who are seeking their first Ligue 1 title since 1992, can open up a two-point lead over Auxerre at the top of the table if they beat south coast neighbours Nice in Sunday’s late game at the Stade Velodrome.

Defending champions Bordeaux’s quest to retain their title was dealt a sizeable blow on Saturday when they lost 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain.

Eliminated from the Champions League by Lyon in mid-week and beaten by Marseille in last month’s League Cup final, Bordeaux could be six points behind Marseille by the end of the weekend, but would have a game in hand.

Montpellier were held 2-2 at second-bottom Le Mans, while bottom club Grenoble’s long-awaited relegation was confirmed when they lost 4-0 at Toulouse and fourth-bottom Saint-Etienne beat Sochaux 2-0 to pull 11 points clear of the drop zone.