Lyon put pressure on blown away Bordeaux

In-form Lyon moved to within two points of French league leaders Bordeaux with a comfortable 2-0 victory at home to Nice on Saturday.

The win for Claude Puel’s side maintained their unbeaten league record in 2010 and secured revenge for a 4-1 defeat at Nice in late October.

Lisandro Lopez put the hosts ahead in the 10th minute at the Stade Gerland, tapping home Miralem Pjanic’s precise low centre from the right.

Lyon spurned multiple chances to make the game safe, with Michel Bastos scuffing badly wide shortly after Lisandro’s goal and substitute Bafetimbi Gomis heading over from right in front of goal in the 89th minute.

Nice’s best chance fell to Chaouki Ben Saada, whose long-range strike was brilliantly saved by Lyon’s French international goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Gomis made amends for his miss in injury time when he pressured Nice defender Onyekachi Apam into diverting Mathieu Bodmer’s cross into his own goal.

“It’s good for us. We could even have increased the score but we didn’t,” said Bosnian international Pjanic.

“It’s a shame but, at the end of the day, we’ve still scored goals without letting any in.”

Lyon, who will take a 1-0 lead into the away leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Real Madrid on March 10, now have 49 points, two less than Bordeaux but having played two games more.

Bordeaux’s trip to Le Mans on Sunday has been postponed due to a severe weather forecast predicting violent winds in the Sarthe region.

With the champions not playing this weekend, third-placed Montpellier can go level on points at the top of the table if they beat Rennes in Saturday’s late kick-off.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Monaco won 1-0 at home to second-bottom Boulogne to keep hold of seventh place, while Lorient secured their first home win of the year by defeating Sochaux 1-0 thanks to Sigamary Diarra’s 34th-minute strike.

Bottom club Grenoble secured their first away win of a dismal season after a brace from 20-year-old defender Yoric Ravet brought them a 2-0 victory at Nancy.

Saint-Etienne’s bid to pull clear of the relegation zone suffered a blow with a 1-0 defeat at Valenciennes, while Toulouse prevailed by the same scoreline at home to Lens.

The big game of the weekend in France takes place on Sunday, when title challengers Marseille travel to arch-rivals Paris Saint-Germain for the second ‘Clasico’ of the season.

Fourth meets sixth in Sunday’s other game as Lille host Auxerre.