Bordeaux slump continues at Lorient

Defending French champions Bordeaux’s bid to qualify for next season’s Champions League received another body blow when they were beaten 1-0 at Lorient on Saturday.

Laurent Blanc’s side have now won just one of their last eight league games — losing four of the last five — and sit four points outside the top three, albeit with a game in hand. Lorient are four points behind Bordeaux in seventh.

Bordeaux dominated the first half, with Alou Diarra and Yoann Gourcuff drawing fine saves from Lorient goalkeeper Lorient Cappone and Yoan Gouffran smashing the rebound from Gourcuff’s shot against the crossbar.

Bordeaux lost talisman Gourcuff to injury at half-time and fell behind in the 57th minute when Lorient top scorer Kevin Gameiro raced away from the Bordeaux defence before firing the ball between the legs of Ulrich Rame.

Lorient substitute Yann Jouffre then hit the bar with his first touch, while Marouane Chamakh was denied an equaliser in the 74th minute by another tremendous intervention from Cappone.

Lille climbed to third, two points behind second-placed Auxerre, after winning 2-1 at third-bottom Le Mans.

Tulio De Melo touched home Emerson’s low cross to put Lille ahead in the 13th minute but the hosts replied through Modibo Maiga, only for in-form Yohan Cabaye to restore Lille’s lead with a penalty 11 minutes from time.

Montpellier were also hoping to close on Auxerre but they were held to a 0-0 draw at Nancy and are now a point beind Lille in fourth.

Fifth-place Lyon, who will take a 1-0 deficit into the home leg of their Champions League semi-final with Bayern Munich on Tuesday, have postponed their home game with Monaco until May 12.

Elsewhere, second-bottom Boulogne-sur-Mer prolonged their relegation fight with a 3-0 victory at Sochaux, while Nice won 2-1 at home to already-relegated Grenoble.

In Saturday’s late game, French Cup finalists Paris Saint-Germain, currently 10th, welcome eighth-placed Rennes to the Parc des Princes.

The top two are both in action on Sunday, as Auxerre travel to Toulouse and leaders Marseille look to extend their five-point lead at home to fourth-bottom Saint-Etienne.