Week of November 20-27

SCORES

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UEFA Champions League

November 21

Real Madrid 2-2 Lyon
Lille 2-2 Anderlecht

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UEFA Cup

November 23

Odense BK 1-1 Lens
Basle 2-2 Nancy
PSG 2-4 Hapoel Tel Aviv
Auxerre 2-2 Rangers

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Ligue 1

November 25

Troyes 1-1 Marseille
Bordeaux 1-0 St. Etienne
Lille 1-1 Monaco
Lorient 1-3 Sochaux
Nice 2-2 Sedan
Toulouse 1-0 Rennes

November 26

Le Mans 1-1 Lens
Nantes 1-1 PSG
Valenciennes 1-0 Nancy
Lyon 1-0 Auxerre

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In Champions League action there were few bigger matches to be played than the one at Madrid’s Bernabeu. Real vs. Lyon has become a grudge match, and one that the Spanish giants were desperate to win. In last year’s campaign Real lost 3-0 and drew 1-1 with Lyon, and in their first meeting this year Lyon dominated them 2-0 at the Stade Gerland. Lyon has not yet lost or conceded a goal for that matter in the Champions league this year. Things started out well for the Lyonnais, as John Carew showed his might by scoring eleven minutes in, followed quickly by Florent Malouda. Just as it looked like another rout for the French side, Diarra came out and scored for Madrid against his old club less than ten minutes later. Lyon dominated the rest of the match, but Ruud Van Nistelrooy came through just before the end of the match to tie things up. Van Nistelrooy had the chance to be the hero with a penalty kick in injury time, but Gregory Coupet made himself the hero and saved the day. The 2-2 tie gives Lyon the top place in the group and moves them on to the next round.

Lille hosted Anderlecht in what was nearly a must-win for the home side, as they found themselves 5 points back of AC Milan in their group, and could conceivably be bumped out of second place in the group with an AEK Athens win. Lille were only able to manage a 1-1 draw with Anderlecht in their first meeting on September 13. Lille’s evening started brightly with an early goal by Peter Odemwingie, but ten minutes later Anderlecht tied things up with a goal by Mbo Mpenza. Both sides traded goals once more before the end of the match, which is a very disappointing result for Lille, as AEK Athens beat AC Milan, placing them second in the group for now. Now Lille have to rely on AEK losing to Anderlecht on the next matchday, and they must win against AC Milan, which may not be as hard as it sounds.

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Lens took a little trip to Denmark to meet up against Odense BK in their UEFA cup tie. The Danish side have only lost once in the cup competition, but will see some mighty tough opposition in the form of Lens, whose domestic form has been outstanding, and who haven’t lost in the cup at all. Odense scored first in the 58th minute with a goal from Grahn, but as the match came to a close Lens made the most of one of the few shots on goal they had to tien things up before the end. 1-1 was the final score, and puts Lens in second place in the group for now.

Nancy goes across the border to Switzerland to play FC Basel at St. Jakob Park. Nancy currently sit in second in their cup group, but that could swiftly change with a loss to the Swiss club. Basel, on the other hand, need a win and some goals, as they face the danger of not clearing the group stage without a win here. Both sides played for the win, but it was Nancy who scored first half an hour in, followed by Basel’s Scott Chipperfield chipping one in. The teams traded goals once more before the match ended, and as it looked as if Nany would take the lead from a penalty kick, Michael Chretien missed his chance. Nancy look favored to keep the second place in Group E with the tie, while Basel looked headed out of the competition.

PSG hosted Israeli side Hapoel Tel Aviv at the Parc Des Princes on Thursday. PSG had only been able to manage a draw in this competition to date, and a win here would give them more of an argument to stay into the next round. Tel Aviv had lost one and drawn one, and a win in France was looking a bit of a stretch. Fortunately for the Israeli side the PSG defense leaked like a sieve on the day, and the two quick goals by Salim Toama in the first ten minutes put the Paris side in a state of shock. After recovering their composure, Frau and Pauleta were able to tie things up before the end of the first half. The home side were doomed however, when they went into the dressing room one goal down when Walid Badir scored in the 44th minute. Just for good measure the Israelis popped one more in to seal the deal with four goals. PSG drop to the bottom of their group and become a long shot to get out of the group stage of the cup competition.

Auxerre hosted Rangers from Scotland in a game they had to get points from if they wanted to assert their right to move past the group stage. Rangers had managed to win their last two UEFA Cup matches and were looking better in Europe than in their domestic campaign. Auxerre had yet to win a match, but they had two more matches in hand to change their situation. Things started brightly for the home side as they scored right before half-time. The second half was preoccupied with trading goals as Rangers scored next with a goal from Novo. Niculae and Boyd scored for their sides, respectively. The draw gives Rangers a pass to the next round, while Auxerre has an uphill struggle from here on in, as they must win their next two European games.

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Marseille halted their losing streak last week with a win against Valenciennes in a 1-0 win at home, and were confident they could get a result against Troyes, who have been bumbling around the foot of the table most of the season. Troyes, on the other hand needed a win more than anything and what better place to get it than at home against a side that has a lot of problems of its own? Things started brightly for Troyes, whose Yann Lachouer scored 18 minutes in. The home side were able to hold Marseille until Maoulida was able to breach the defense midway through the second half. The 1-1 final was not what the visitors would have been hoping for, as wins are the only solution to Marseille’s freefall, but the home side were more than happy to get a point out of the day.

Bordeaux hosted St. Etienne Saturday, high off two huge wins, one against PSG in the league, and the next midweek against Galatasaray. St. Etienne were in good form as well, not having lost since October 28. The home side had the bulk of the opportunities to score, and Alonso took full advantage in the 70th minute after holding St. Etienne off for two thirds of the match. St. Etienne were not able to counter with any quality chances, and they slip to eighth in the table. The win takes Bordeaux up into 6th place, with their form continuing to improve.

Monaco had something to prove going into Lille, and that was that they could beat a top side in the French League. Lille needed a win to improve on the draws they were able to manage over the last week. Monaco’s 4-0 drubbing of Troyes the other week, followed by a draw with giant-killers Lorient had them on a serious high going into this match. Monaco started the match off brightly, as did Lille, with both sides getting multitudes of chances, until the 37th minute, when Monaco broke the deadlock. The Monte Carlo side held on well but were unable to get the three points after substitute Mathieu Bodmer scored in the 77th minute for Lille. A draw was a very good result for Monaco though, and they continue to recover from their disastrous season start slowly but surely.

Mid-table, Lorient hosted Sochaux, who haven’t scored a goal in the last two weeks of Ligue 1 competition. Lorient have looked brilliant over the past month, beating Marseille and Lille in the process. Sylvain Marchal started things of brightly for the Brittany side, scoring 2 minutes in. The early setback didn’t faze Sochaux though, as Liverpool loan-boy Anthony Le Tallec popped in 2 goals within three minutes to put the visitors in the lead. A well taken penalty kick by Karim Ziani as the period closed sent the teams to the dressing room with the score 3 goals to 1. That was the final scoreline as well, as Sochaux moves into 4th in the table.

Nice played host to Sedan with both teams needing results if they wanted to stop flirting with relegation. Sedan came into the match at the bottom of the table with only one domestic win all season, while Nice weren’t faring much better in 17th place. Sedan’s Joseph Desire-Job scored first, but Nice were able to get two back at the beginning of the second half. And just as it looked as if the home side would run away with the points, Gregory Pujol was able to tie things up to make the final score 2-2.

Rennes came into Toulouse hoping for something better than the two draw that they manages the past two weeks, and back to the glorious game they played against Lyon. Toulouse lost to Auxerre 1-0 last week, and were wanting to get back into winning form and the top 4. The teams traded chances all match, with Rennes getting the bulk of the opportunites to score, but in the 66th minute the dangerous Bryan Bergougnoux was awarded a penalty kick and converted with little difficulty. Bergougnoux had the chance to make it 2-0 after Rennes gave away another penalty as the game came to a close, but failed. No matter for the home side, as they walked away with three points on a 1-0 scoreline.

Early Sunday Le Mans had Lens at home in what promised to be a tough match with Lens barking at the door of the coveted second place spot. Le Mans, in 11th, would settle for nothing but a win as they knew that with a few good results they could be up into the European places, however two weeks of drawn matches against PSG and Rennes, respectively, meant they needed points. Le Mans’ prolific goal scorer Ismael Bangoura scored early on to get the home side out in front. Lens countered quickly with a multitude of chances until they were able to capitalize just before halftime when Olivier Thomert roofed it into the net after getting the ball on the edge of the box. The rest of the match played out in midfield with neither team’s defence stretched by much, and it ended a 1-1 draw. Lens are unable to get into second with the draw, but they end up in third on goal difference.

PSG travelled to Nantes in dire straights needing to stop their free fall in the table. 14th is where they were after the loss to Bordeaux, and could conceivably fall two more places with a loss. Nantes also needed to keep on form as they continued to flirt with relegation sitting in 18th, but PSG was just the team to get points off of, as they hadn’t won yet in November. Things started well for PSG at La Beaujoire-Louis-Fonteneau, with Kalou scoring after 2 minutes of play. Pauleta had a chance to make it 2-0 minutes later on a one-on-one with Nantes keeper Vladimir Stojkovic, but failed to make good. Stojkovic proved the hero of the match, keeping the scoreline 1-0 until the 75th minute when Nantes’ Da Rocha was able to nudge the ball over the line. A point suits PSG well, and Nantes keeps their 18th place, needing a good result against Rennes next week to get out of relegation territory.

Valenciennes hosted Nancy Sunday afternoon having lost their last four matches, and looking to improve their form. Nancy were able to manage a draw midweek in Switzerland, but looked the more tired side coming into this match. The Stade Nungesser erupted early when Steve Savidan scored a mere 60 seconds in, which was enough to seal the deal for the northern side. Chances were in short order over the rest of the match, whcih was frustrating a scrappy for both sides, and resulted in three card being handed out, as well as 36 fouls being committed. The loss is a bit of a blow to nancy, who find themselves in 5th place, but are looking to do better next week in their big match against Lille.

It was another David and Goliath situation when Lyon met up with Auxerre in Sunday’s marquee match. Lyon had a fantastic match against Real Madrid midweek, even though it turned out to be a draw for them, while Auxerre’s UEFA cup draw held much more meaning for them and took away two points they needed. Auxerre’s win over Toulouse last week, however gave them a bit of a domestic boost, and they were looking to be, as Rennes were three weeks ago, giant killers. Unfortunately it was not to be for the Bourgogne side as Florent Malouda made no mistake, heading in a Juninho free kick at the 25 minute mark. Auxerre had plenty of chances but Gregory Coupet came up big, as did the Lyon goal-posts. Lyon now moves 14 points clear of second-place Lille, and continue to run away with the title.

Week Of November 13-20

SCORES

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Ligue 1

November 18

Sochaux 0-0 Lille
Lens 2-0 Nantes
Monaco 2-2 Lorient
Nancy 1-0 Troyes
PSG 0-2 Bordeaux
Rennes 1-1 Le Mans
St. Etienne 2-1 Nice
Sedan 0-1 Lyon

November 19th

Auxerre 1-0 Toulouse
Marseille 1-0 Valenciennes

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The early Saturday action kicked off with a meeting that saw Lille looking to increase their foothold on second place. Their win the week before had been an incredible morale booster, but with Lens only two points back, work needed to be done. Sochaux on the other hand, were just interested into climbing back into the top four after a disappointing goalless draw played out the week before in Nice. Unfortunately for both teams the result didn’t improve either team’s fortunes by much, as a goalless draw was again the result for Sochaux. Lille, on the other hand, will need to work just that much harder to play catch up to Lyon.

Lens were able to keep pacey Rennes at bay last week, and in doing so kept their respectable home record. A visit from Nantes was unlikely to change all that, although Nantes needed three points to move themselves out of the relegation zone. Goals for Lens in the first minute by Adama Coulibaly and again near the end of the match my Seydou Keita in the 83rd minute sealed the 2-0 victory for them. Lens sit 3rd in the Championnat after the match, while Nantes slump into 18th.
Monaco was on something of a high after dismantling Troyes 4-0 last week, and no doubt hoped it would begin the path to recovery after an extremely dismal start to the season. Three weeks ago many would have scoffed at newly-promoted Lorient, but after successive defeats of Marseille and Nancy, they looked downright brilliant sitting in 9th place. Monaco started things off with a Yaya Toure strike 8 minutes in, but Lorient showed what they were made of by coming back and scoring two and taking the lead. Lorient looked on their way to three more points when Jeremy Menez scored for Monaco in the 50th minute. Neither team could break up the draw in the ensuing forty minutes, but played to an entertaining draw which was positive for both sides.

Nancy’s home fixture against Troyes looked like somewhat of a gimme, especially after Troyes’ inglorious defeat to Monaco the week before, and the fact that Nancy was desperate to get back up into the coveted second place behind Lyon. Troyes on the other hand had something to prove, and show that they could be giant-killers as well. Troyes came out gangbusters, but were unable to convert chance after chance, or take advantage of some key goalkeeping errors on Nancy’s part. Nonetheless they kept Nancy off the scoreboard until very later in the match when Sebastien Puygrenier headed one home for the Lorraine side. By then it was too late for the visitors, as Nancy looks to get back up into the upper echelons of the table.

Bordeaux travelled to Paris with the intention of stopping their slide down the table and getting a good result for the first time in weeks. A draw with Auxerre last week was not the result they were hoping for, as they have had all their weaknesses exposed domestically and internationally. PSG gets their firepower back with the return of Pedro Pauleta, whose absence has been clearly felt, especially last week in Le Mans where the only goal PSG managed was from a Penalty Kick. PSG’s November campaign continued its slide as Bordeaux struck gold in the 28th minute with Wendel converting a well taken pass from Fernando Menegazzo. PSG’s chances were limited to a few misjudgements by Pauleta before Lillian Laslandes sealed the deal in the 87th minutes to push the Paris side just that much further into mediocrity.

Rennes hosted Le Mans at the Orient Road on Saturday. Coming off two good weeks including a win against Lyon and a draw with Lens, Rennes’ were where they wanted to be coming into this match, on the road to recovery. Le Mans were also only able to manage a draw the week before, although their table position was slightly better than Rennes. Rennes started with a bit of bad luck with striker John Utaka sent off half an hour in. A bad defensive performance on Rennes’ behalf gave Stephane Sessegnon the opportunity to convert as the first half closed, which he did in cracking fashion. The second half played out very tenuously with the home side mostly defending until Rennes’ Sylvain Marveaux curled a well-taken free kick into the net in the 89th minute, giving them a share of the spoils. Final score 1-1.

St. Etienne wanted a chance to push up into the upper echelons of the league in their fixture against Nice, and on the surface it seemed an easy draw, with Nice sitting down in 16th place. Both teams were only able to manage disappointing draws the week before, and were looking to improve. St. Etienne made their case with two quick goals midway through the first half, but Nice’s Cyril Rool scored off a free kick in first half injury time to give the visitors a little hope. An uneventful second half kept the scoreline the same, even after 7 minutes of stoppage time. Final 2-1.

It was a mismatch of the highest order at Sedan where the 20th place home side hosted the European high-flyers in first place, Lyon. A draw could really be the only result that Sedan could honestly expect from this match, but that would not be enough to lift them off the bottom. Sedan bravely held on ‘til the very end without conceding but a bit of terrible luck saw Sedan’s Nadjim Abdou deflect a shot off his leg into the net, giving the visitors the win on a 0-1 scoreline, and both teams keep their positions in the table.

The early Sunday match featured Auxerre at home to Toulouse, who slipped up last week and ended up in 7th place. Auxerre needed a decent result from this match to pick them up a little, although the draw last week with Bordeaux was a good result for them all things considering. Toulouse were unable to get anything going with Auxerre’s Luigi Pieroni scoring early in the second half. Toulouse were also only able to manage half the shots on goal that Auxerre did, and were cautioned twice. Toulouse continues their drop in form, while Auxerre’s fortunes are rising. Auxerre 1-0 Toulouse.

Valenciennes held on bravely against Lyon at the Stade Gerland last week, losing 2-1, and not they had the opportunity to go to Marseille and take out a team in distress. Marseille were in free-fall with losses to Lille and Lorient over the past 2 weeks. Management questions and player squabbles were also haunting Marseille as they came into this match. Frank Ribery continued his absence from the Marseille squad after injuring his groin in the match against Lyon 3 weeks ago, and will likely not return until the new year. Fortunately for Marseille they were able to withstand an early battering by the visitors, holding on to a clean sheet. Marseille’s goal came at 61 minutes by Mickael Pagis, and they halt their terrible form, if just for now.

Week of November 6-13

SCORES
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Ligue 1

November 10

Lyon 2-1 Valenciennes

November 11

Bordeaux 0-0 Auxerre
Le Mans 1-1 PSG
Lens 0-0 Rennes
Lorient 2-0 Nancy
Nantes 2-2 St. Etienne
Nice 0-0 Sochaux
Toulouse 3-1 Sedan

November 12

Troyes 0-4 Monaco
Lille 1-0 Marseille

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On Friday Lyon hosted Valenciennes in an important match at the Stade Gerland. Lyon just came off a disappointing first loss of the season away to Rennes. Valenciennes were trounced 3 goals to nil at home against Lille, and looked the weaker side in all respects, and I’m sure would have been quite happy with a draw. After 75 minutes of nothing, the visitors struck first with a goal from Steve Savidan. Lyon responded in turn by popping in two goals in the dying minutes of the match to win, making a remarkable comeback. Lyon’s Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou left the game early with Knee and Hip injuries, respectively. Final score, Lyon 2-1 Valenciennes.

Slumping Bordeaux were needing a home result as 15th place Auxerre came a-calling to the Girondins. Effectively knocked out of Champions League competition, Bordeaux needed to concentrate on their league form if they wanted to get into Cup contention next year. Their defeat at Nancy last week put that much more pressure on them to prove that they weren’t just a flash in the pan. Solid end-to-end action with a lack of finishing was the name of the game here. Both teams with many, many chances to score, but Bordeaux was only able to squeak out a draw at home, the match ending nil-nil.

Mid table, the match between Le Mans and PSG was the second match that PSG striker Pauleta was unavailable for. An absence of forward quality was felt in their match against Lens at home the week before, when they were trounced 3-1. Le Mans had squeaked out a win against Auxerre, and certainly had the goods to hold PSG at bay. PSG got off to a good start as Bonaventure Kalou converted a penalty to put the visitors up 1-0. Le Mans quickly countered though, with Lucau scoring just before halftime. Nobody was able to change the score after 45 more minutes, playing to a 1-1 draw.

Heading into the Stade Felix-Bollaert, Rennes had a chance to prove that their brilliant display against Lyon at home the week before wasn’t just a fluke, but the absence of injured captain Olivier Monterubbio shook the squad a bit. Lens were in fine form sitting at 4th in the table and a couple of wins behind them, including a decisive one away in Paris the week before. Scrappy Rennes held Lens off for 90 minutes, getting a few good chances in the process, but the draw takes Lens up into second place with Nancy’s loss at Lorient.

Lorient had their work cut out for them against an unbelievable Nancy side that sneaked their way up into second last week, that said the boys from southern Brittany shocked last week’s second place holders Marseille a goal to nil away. Nancy needed a win to keep pace with Lyon and perhaps sneak up on the title holders. Midfielder Ulrich LePen scored a surprising goal for Lorient in the 67th minute, making the case for the Brittany side against the second place holders. Lorient finished Nancy off with a late goal by Namouchi, Shocking the visitors and the bookmakers with the 2-0 scoreline.

A win would take Nantes out of the relegation zone and they needed a confidence boost against St. Etienne who blasted Toulouse 3-0 the previous week. Nantes opened the scoring with a goal from Eric Cubellier, only to see their lead negated in first-half injury time with a Feindouno strike. The two sides traded goals once more in the second half, ending the game 2-2

Sochaux came into Nice the favoured side, sitting pretty in 5th place. Nice needed a boost after drawing with lowly Monaco in Monte Carlo the week before, and to keep any relegation thoughts out of their minds. Sochaux were thwarted by Nice keeper Hugo Lloris who came up big, keeping his side in the match, and holding for a nil-nil draw. A disappointing result for Sochaux who were gunning for second place in the table, and a good result for Nice, who needed a draw at least.

Toulouse had been knocked down a peg by St. Etienne and were seeking to recover a few points against the 19th place team. Sedan hadn’t won in the past four matches, only squeaking a draw out at Nantes. Fabinho scored in the 45th minute to take the home side into the dressing room a goal up. Another goal early in the second half put Toulouse in the driver’s seat. Sedan got one back in the 66th minute giving them a ray of hope to manage a draw. Their hopes were dashed, however, by a second goal from Johan Elmander, ending the match at three goals to one.

Troyes certainly weren’t looking a formidable foe for most teams, but for Monaco any team was one that could push them further down into misery as unrest in the dressing room and poor management has left them to reside at the bottom of the table. Fortunately for the Monagesque side, fate smiles upon them, as they were put one goal up in the 20th minute by Serge Gakpe, and even after being reduced to ten men a few minutes later, managed to pop in three more goals late in the second half, and kept a clean sheet just to ice the cake. The win lifts Monaco out of the 20th spot for the first time in a few weeks.

Probably the match with the most implications on the table was Marseille’s visit to Lille. Marseille’s cocky attitude got them nowhere over the past few weeks, and one hopes that they had a good hard look at themselves this week if they had any chance of a result against Lille, who looked amazing last week as they popped in 3 at Valenciennes. Lille got things started in first half stoppage time with a goal from Mathieu Bodmer. Marseille tried valiantly to get one back and save them from slumping into irrelevance, but it was aqll for naught, as Lille won 1-0.

Week Of October 24 - November 6

SCORES
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UEFA Champions League

October 31

Liverpool 3-0 Bordeaux

November 1

Lyon 1-0 Dynamo Kiev
AEK Athens 1-0 Lille

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UEFA Cup

November 2

Lens 3-1 Ocasuna
Nancy 2-1 Wisla Krakow

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Ligue 1

November 4

Rennes 1-0 Lyon
Auxerre 2-3 Le Mans
Marseille 0-1 Lorient
Monaco 0-0 Nice
St. Etienne 3-0 Toulouse
Sedan 1-1 Nantes
Sochaux 1-0 Troyes
Valenciennes 0-3 Lille

November 5

Nancy 2-1 Bordeaux
PSG 1-3 Lens

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In the Champions League this week Bordeaux desperately needed a result against Liverpool at Anfield. The visitors had been unable to score a goal in 3 European fixtures, and continued that trend with Pepe Reina keeping a clean sheet at Anfield, and with Bordeaux never really mounting a serious challenge. Luis Garcia scored twice and Steven Gerrard once. The Girondins were reduced to ten men after Menegazzo headbutted John Arne Riise in the 67th minute. Bordeaux will need results in their next two matches if they want to qualify for the UEFA cup by finishing third in the group. Liverpool joins PSV in automatically qualifying for the Round of 16 out of Group C.

Gerard Houllier’s side turned in another fine performance at the Stade Gerland, beating Dynamo Kiev 1-0. Lyon has not yet conceded a goal in this year’s Champions League competition. The depth in the Lyon squad was in evidence as young striker Karim Benzema stepped firmly into the boots of the injured Fred, scoring the only goal of the match in the 14th minute. Kiev played a brilliant match though, missing several key chances yet keeping the home side to one goal.

A late goal from Nikos Lyberopoulos secured AEK Athens their first ever UEFA Champions league victory. Lille defender Efstathios Tavlaridis was sent off at 22 minutes, and the visitors held on bravely for 50 minutes before the home side struck. The loss puts Lille in a more tenuous place in Group H, as they hold only a one point lead over Athens in the second place position.

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In UEFA Cup action Lens improved their form with a huge home win over Spanish side Ocasuna. Aruna Dindane had a superb game with a goal and created a penalty opportunity which was converted by Daniel Cousin. Ocasuna got one back from Valdo as the second half began, but Lens held on for a 3-1 victory.

Nancy’s home stand against Wisla Krakow was eventful with two goals for the home side coming from Pascal Berenguer, which was enough to secure them the win. Wisla’s Paweł Brożek tied things up at the half-hour mark, but things went downhill as Varga was sent off for the visitors in the second half. Final score, 2-1.

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The early game Saturday was an important one for both teams involved. Lyon looked to get their tenth Ligue 1 win, and Rennes desperately needed a result to keep from slipping any further in the table. Rennes cranked Lyon 4-1 at the Gerland last season, and the visitors weren’t about to take their opposition lightly. The Galettes absolutely dominated the first half, keeping possession and outpacing the visitors. The goal eventually came from Mbia off a corner in the 13th minute. Lyon came out flying in the second half, missing more than a few good chances on goal, but Rennes keeper Pouplin was man of the match, making several spectacular saves. A frustrated Lyon side began to pile on the fouls which eventually culminated in Juninho being sent off for a vicious elbow to Romain Danze’s face which left him bloody. Struggling with ten men, Lyon appeared to equalize in the 95th minute, but the goal was called on the offside. Rennes got a well-deserved win at the Orient Road, beating the one team that they wouldn’t have been expected to beat.

The Stade Abbe Deschamps was the venue as Le Mans came into Auxerre needing a confidence boost, the month of October having been unkind to them with three draws and two losses. The home side had also been struggling, sitting in 14th in the table. The visitors opened the scoring early in the first half with Ismael Bangoura converting a corner. Kanga Akale brought things level in the second half before penalties at either end of the park in the 79th and 80th minutes made it 2-2. Benzema completed a hat trick in injury time to give Le Mans the last-minute win.

Marseille hosted the lads from Lorient with both teams on a bit of a poor run. Marseille needed a win badly to even pretend to mount a challenge to Lyon. Lyon’s loss earlier in the day gave them the opportunity to close the gap to 8 points. The home side has been in the press after an unruly fan threw an incendiary device onto the field which blew off a fireman’s hand. An uneventful first half was followed directly by a Lorient goal from Andre-Pierre Gignac, putting the visitors in the driver’s seat. Lorient held on for the win giving AS Nancy the chance to leapfrog Marseille into the coveted second place spot.

The Riviera derby continued Saturday with troubled club AS Monaco meeting local rivals Nice. Both teams were struggling with Monaco holding up the bottom of the table and Nice in 17th just out of the relegation zone. Neither team was able to improve on their current form, however, with the match ending nil-nil, and Monaco continues to sit in 20th spot.

New coach Jose Pasqualetti made his first appearance with Sedan against bottom-feeding Nantes who were without some key players due to injuries and punishments. The best either team could do was play to a nil-nil draw, meaning all the teams in the relegation zone stay there this week.

16th place Troyes travelled to Sochaux on a high after a 3-1 victory over St. Etienne the week before. It was Troyes’ first good result in four matches, and lifted them up above relegation position. Sochaux came in with a more favorable table position but weren’t about to discount the threat that the visitors posed. Troyes were unable to convert a penalty late in the first half which proved to be their undoing, as Sochaux pounced late in the game with a goal from Guirane N’Daw. Final score: 1-0.

St. Etienne hosted Toulouse with the visitors in fine form and in fifth place. The home side was coming off a very poor showing against lowly Troyes the week before. St. Etienne made up for last week’s drubbing by pounding in three goals and keeping a clean sheet in the process. The loss was costly for Toulouse as they moved down the table to 8th and St. Etienne claimed their 5th place spot.

Valenciennes has made the Stade Nungesser a fortress this season with a record of four wins and a draw, but can’t seem to manage a result on the road. Lille had a tough trip to Athens over the week which resulted in them compromising their position in the Champions league. Unfortunately for the home side their form was to end, as a revitalized Lille team beat them 3-0. Fauvergue, Odemwingie, and Cabaye provided goals for the visitors, who turned in a dominating performance.

Sunday saw Nancy meet Bordeaux in a clash that the home side needed to win if they wanted to continue to battle for the Championship. Lyon praised Nancy after last week’s match as the toughest team they’ve met so far in this year’s campaign. Bordeaux had a tough week with a 3-0 loss to Liverpool which put an end to any Champions League aspirations they may have had. Now they need to focus on their league form if they want to compete continentally next season. Nancy scored first early in the first half on a goal from Sebastien Puygrenier, followed quickly by a goal from Bordeaux’ leading scorer Jean-Claude Darcheville. Bordeaux looked to move up a few times before giving away a penalty which was converted in the 55th minute by Moncaf Zerka. Nancy’s season continues to roll on well with fading Bordeaux moving down to 9th in the table.

PSG and Lens were both in fine form coming into their match at the Parc des Princes Sunday. PSG striker Pauleta is unavailable for two matches after being red carded in the match against Rennes last week, and subsequently being found guilty to insulting the Assistant Referee. Lens won their fixture with Auxerre last week, and handily beat Ocasuna midweek in UEFA Cup action. PSG dominated the play in the first half with Sylvain Armand blasting a shot past Lens keeper Charles Itandje, but a changed Lens side came out after the break, popping in three goals before the final whistle. Daniel Cousin scored two and Olivier Thomert one, and the visitors moved themselves into an impressive 4th in the table.