Chamakh at the double for Bordeaux

Marouane Chamakh brushed aside recent speculation surrounding his future at Bordeaux to help keep the French champions near the top of the league in a 3-2 away win at Sochaux on Saturday.

Only weeks ago the Moroccan striker had been a transfer target of English Premier League side Arsenal and looked on his way to the Emirates until Bordeaux slapped a hefty price tag on his head, leading him to hit out at his club.

Any ill sentiment he may have been feeling was left behind in the dressing room however as he rose above the Sochaux defence twice to head home either side of half time,

Brazilian midfielder Wendel was credited with adding Bordeaux’s second goal when he benefited from a fluke deflection off the keeper as he tried to pass across goal in the 42nd minute.

With title favourites Marseille set to play Sunday, hosting Lille in Montpellier because of stadium problems, Laurent Blanc’s side have six points from two games and are second in the table behind Nancy on goal difference.

Paris Saint Germain meanwhile made up for their opening draw last weekend with a 3-1 hammering of Le Mans with Turkey’s Mevlut Erding opening the scoring with a stunning individual effort in the 34th minute at the Parc des Princes.

Le Mans had opened the scoring through Norwegian striker Thorstein Helstad in the 21st minute

However, PSG’s charge towards victory looked on after Erding collected on the left flank and then turned his marker inside out before unleashing a shot which beat goalkeeper Rodolphe Roche at his far post.

Another Le Mans player, Frederic Thomas, then had the ball in the net but his own goal on the hour did little to boost morale.

A rampant PSG then sealed their win with a third goal from fans’ favourite Ludovic Giuly, their victory moving them to third on four points.

Lyon, who won the title seven years in a row until Bordeaux loosened their grip last season, also claimed their first win of the season with Bafi Gomis’s great looping header enough to seal the points over Valenciennes.

Nancy provided one of the most stunning results of the day, a 4-0 hammering of beaten 2004 Champions League finalists Monaco making sure they go top thanks to a superior goal difference over Bordeaux.

Monaco beat Toulouse 1-0 last week but had no reply to gutsy north-eastern minnows Nancy, who saw a second half double from Paul Alo’o Efoulou add to first half goals from Issiar Dia and Andre Luiz Silva, his from the penalty spot.

Lens, one of eight teams to lose on the opening day last week, enjoyed a 2-0 win at home to Auxerre while Lorient grabbed a deserved share of the spoils when Laurent Koscielny scored an injury-time equaliser to draw 2-2 with Montpellier,

On Sunday Didier Deschamps’ Marseille side, most observers’ favourites for the title, which they have not won since 1992, will look to keep pace with Bordeaux having won their opener last week.

League new boys Boulogne and Grenoble will also face each other while the Nice v Rennes fixture – both clubs won their opener last week – could prove a tight encounter.