Brest stay top as Marseille stumble again

Brest held onto top spot in the French first division despite being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Sochaux on Saturday, as Marseille missed the chance to gain ground in a 1-1 draw with Lens.

Victory for Marseille would have taken them to within a point of Brest and Stephane Mbia set them on the right track in the sixth minute when he headed home after Gabriel Heinze dummied Lucho Gonzalez’s corner.

The hosts, beaten 2-1 at arch-rivals Paris Saint-Germain in their previous league outing, had plenty of chances to press home their advantage, with striker Andre-Pierre Gignac notably profligate in front of goal.

The big-money summer signing from Toulouse, who is still to hit form at Marseille, dragged wide of goal shortly after Mbia’s opener.

He was also guilty of blazing wildly off-target, despite the support of several team-mates, after weaving his way into the box from the right just before half-time.

Gignac fired wide from the edge of the box early in the second half and 10 minutes later Lens drew level, with Eduardo lashing home on the half-volley after the ball fell kindly for him in the penalty area.

The draw allowed Lens to extend their unbeaten run to five matches and enabled them to move level on points with the teams immediately above the relegation zone.

Brest’s eight-game run without conceding a goal came to an end in a 3-1 defeat at Lille last weekend and they fell behind in the 22nd minute at home to Sochaux when Ideye Brown fired home from the left-hand side of the area.

France Under-21 striker Nolan Roux pounced to volley home an equaliser from a well-worked corner seven minutes before half-time, however, to keep the promoted side a point clear at the summit.

Montpellier climbed from eighth to second after Olivier Giroud’s first-half header earned Rene Girard’s side a 1-0 win at home to Toulouse, but Lille will replace them on goal difference if they win at Caen in Saturday’s late match.

Bordeaux moved up to sixth by beating Nancy 2-1 at Stade Chaban-Delmas, but their winning goal was awarded in farcical circumstances.

After Ludovic Sane’s opener for the hosts had been cancelled out by Paul Alo’o Efoulou, Bordeaux won a free-kick wide on the left in the 90th minute.

Jaroslav Plasil’s inswinging delivery struck the right-hand post and bounced back to Wendel, who appeared to handle the ball before seeing his shot blocked by visiting goalkeeper Damien Gregorini.

The ball had come nowhere near crossing the line, but referee Varela Bartolomeu awarded a goal before turning towards the half-way line pursued by irate and disbelieving Nancy players.

The defeat means Nancy drop into the relegation zone, with Monaco moving in the other direction after a goalless draw at home to bottom club Arles-Avignon.

Valenciennes’ home game with Saint-Etienne was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch following heavy rain in northern France.