Ligue 1 round-up

Lyon dent Marseille hopes

May 8, 2011

Lyon moved into third with a thrilling 3-2 victory over second-placed Marseille that leaves Lille four points clear at the top of Ligue 1 with four games to play.

Cris joined Lyon from Cruzeiro in 2004
GettyImagesCris was one of Lyon's bigger earners

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Ligue 1: Lille extend lead

The hosts surged into a 2-0 lead as Lisandro Lopez won and converted a penalty, sending keeper Steve Mandanda the wrong way, and Cesar Delgado's cross-shot found the net in the 69th minute.

Marseille belatedly found a response and Lucho Gonzalez immediately hit back before Loic Remy bundled home a messy equaliser in the 78th minute.

There was a final twist in the tale, though, as Miralem Pjanic's free-kick was deflected into the path of defender Cris, who volleyed emphatically beyond a helpless Mandanda.

Rennes' hopes of securing a top-five finish in Ligue 1 were dealt a blow as they lost 2-0 to mid-table Valenciennes.

Knowing a win would move them to within a point of Lyon, Rennes never recovered from Foued Kadir's first-half opener. Gael Danic made certain of the win after the break, but in truth Rennes never really got going.