Bordeaux take over top spot in France

Bordeaux dethroned serial champions Lyon, at least overnight, from top spot in the French league on Saturday after a 2-0 win at Auxerre achieved with goals in either half from Brazilians Fernando and Geraldo Wendel.

Fernando struck ten minutes before the interval and Wendel added the second in the 80th minute to send Laurent Blanc’s Girondins into pole position with 59 points from 31 games, level on points with Lyon, who chasing an eighth straight title and who host Monaco on Sunday.

If Lyon avoid defeat and Marseille can see off Grenoble at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday, then Bordeaux will slide back to third, while a Paris Saint Germain win in Lille will move the Parisians to within a point of Blanc’s men going into the final stretch of the season.

Lille themselves will be out for a win which would put them just a solitary point shy of Bordeaux in what has become a six-horse race for the title.

Elsewhere Saturday, Toulouse moved provisionally a point clear of PSG and Lille into fourth spot to keep alive their own unlikely bid for glory as an Andre-Pierre Gignac’s 19th goal of the campaign saw off Nantes, who are stuck in the drop zone which Caen exited thanks to a 2-1 success at Le Havre.

Steve Savidan and Reynald Lemaitre netted for Caen, who were hoping Rennes could see off Saint Etienne in the late match to keep Les Verts beneath them and in the drop zone.

Le Mans beat Sochaux 2-0 in a battle between sides who are still looking over their shoulders while Nancy likewise overcame Valenciennes 2-0 to keep away from immediate danger.

In Saturday’s other encounter, Nice beat Lorient 2-0 in a mid-table meeting.