France League: Round-up

30 November -0001

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Bordeaux kept the pressure on pace setters Lyon with a vital 2-0 win at Ajaccio that keeps the "Girodins" within 7 points of Gerard Houllier's side who dispatched Nantes 3-1 in a match the previous day.

Goals from Marouane Chamakh Saturday on 32 minutes and an insurance marker by Denilson with just over half an hour left were enough for maximum points in Corsica and kept up the pressure on the champions.

Despite Lille's third win of the season against St. Etienne, the UEFA Cup hopefuls remain eight points behind Bordeaux who have solidified their position in second.

At the Parc des Princes, Le Mans kept up their challenge for European places with a 1-0 win over Paris Saint Germain that piles the pressure on recently appointed coach Guy Lacombe.

The capital side have failed to hit top speed under the former Sochaux handler and suffered a crucial blow to their own Champions League aspirations going down to a 5th minute penalty by Cedric Faure.

One consolation for PSG was the 1-0 defeat suffered by Auxerre at Sochaux where Moumouni Dagano scored the only goal of the match after just two minutes.

In the first fixture of the evening, Nice won the Cote d'Azur derby with a comfortable 2-0 win over disappointing Monaco.

Nice, which also ousted Monaco from the League Cup on their way to final where they will face Nancy, were again the stronger side to dent Monaco's flagging chances of qualifying for the Champions League.

"We are on a good run at the moment and we are going to enjoy it, but we still need to keep our feet on the ground," said Nice coach Frederic Antonetti.

Former Manchester United striker David Bellion opened the scoring from the penalty spot after just 8 minutes sending Guillaume Warmuz the wrong way.

Ivory Coast international Bakari Kone then wrapped up the points with a second-half blast to lift Nice into the upper half of the table.

"We are starting to become conscious of our potential," continued Bellion. Our team is serious and a battling outfit. Teams seem to have trouble against us," he added.

Britanny-side Rennes ended a five-game losing streak by thrashing Lens 4-1, the second heavy defeat for the club in days following the 3-0 reverse at Udinese in UEFA Cup action.

Nancy are also on a high as they continue to climb the table riding a 60th minute goal from Moncef Zerka to defeat Troyes 1-0.

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