Milan Baros scored his first goal for Lyon, as the French champions were held 1-1 by Nice.
Milan Baros scored his first goal for Lyon, but the French champions were still held to a 1-1 draw at home by lowly Nice.
Gerard Houllier's side have now gone four games without a win in Ligue 1 and momentarily appeared set for a third straight defeat.
Nice, second from bottom in the table, took the lead at Stade Gerland on 35 minutes when Bakari Kone netted.
But Lyon were level before half-time when Baros, signed from Aston Villa earlier in the week, marked his first start for the club with the equaliser.
Lille were the only club able to close the gap on the leaders as a Marouane Chamakh own goal 12 minutes from time secured a 1-0 win at Bordeaux.
Le Mans ended Marseille's winning streak with a 2-0 triumph over the Provence side in an ill-tempered game.
The hosts took the lead in the first half with a goal from midfielder James Fanchone on 38 minutes.
Marseille coach Albert Emon was shown a red card just seven minutes from time for protesting a controversial penalty which eventually sealed the win for Le Mans.
The penalty was awarded after it appeared Marseille defender Ibrahima Camara had tried to deceive the referee by falling in the box.
Grafite went on to convert from the spot, ending Marseille's three-match winning run.
Paul Le Guen is still awaiting his first Ligue 1 win as Paris Saint Germain coach after seeing his side held to a 0-0 draw at home to Sochaux.
Bottom club Sedan slipped up at home as Jan Koller's second minute effort earned Monaco the points.
Romain Danze's sixth minute goal was enough to clinch a 1-0 success for Rennes at home to Valenciennes.
Cedric Barbosa put Troyes ahead on eight minutes at Toulouse, who secured a 1-1 draw through Dominique Arribage's 28th minute goal.
Andre-Pierre Gignac and Fabrice Abriel scored as Lorient recorded a 2-0 win at struggling Nantes.
Click below for an individual match summary:
Le Mans 2-0 Marseille
Bordeaux 0-1 Lille
Lyon 1-1 Nice
Nantes 0-2 Lorient
Paris Saint Germain 0-0 Sochaux
Rennes 1-0 Valenciennes
Sedan 0-1 Monaco
Toulouse 1-1 Troyes
