Montpellier took a huge step towards winning the Ligue 1 title with a 2-0 victory at Rennes.
Montpellier march on; Lille win again; Sochaux off bottom
Montpellier took a huge step towards winning the Ligue 1 title with a 2-0 victory at Rennes.
Souleymane Camara opened the scoring before a Benoit Costil own goal saw Montpellier negotiate a tricky away trip and move back to the top of the league.
They are now three points clear of title rivals Paris St Germain with just two games to play.
Defending champions
Lille ensured a top-three finish in Ligue 1 and a place in the Champions League with a comprehensive 3-0 win over mid-table
Caen.
Les Dogues made it eight wins from their last nine games courtesy of two goals from Tulio De Melo, the first from the penalty spot, plus a second-half strike from Dimitri Payet.
The win also keeps Lille's slim hopes of a successful title defence alive as they travel to Montpellier next weekend.
St Etienne remained in the hunt for a Europa League place, despite being held to a goalless draw at home to
Marseille.
Crucial
Sebastien Roudet's late strike lifted
Sochaux from the bottom of the table as they secured a crucial 1-0 win over
Nancy at the Stade Bonal.
The result moves Sochaux out of the relegation zone and left fellow strugglers
Auxerre bottom after they were beaten 4-2 at home to
Bordeaux.
It was a miserable night for Auxerre as the excitement of their recent revival evaporated as they were three goals down inside the first 10 minutes, with Yoan Gouffran netting twice before Ludovic Sane added a third.
Jaroslav Plasil ended the game as a contest just after half-time before Olivier Kapo gave a semblance of respectability to the scoreline.
Elsewhere,
Nice edged a point closer to safety and put a dent in their opponents' European hopes with a goalless draw at
Toulouse.
And
Dijon missed the chance to drag
Lorient back into the relegation mire as they were unable to make the breakthrough in a 0-0 draw at the Stade du Moustoir.
