Week of April 16-23

SCORES

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Ligue 1

April 18

Bordeaux 3-0 Nancy
Lyon 0-0 Rennes

April 21

PSG 4-0 Nantes
Nancy 1-0 Valenciennes
Lens 2-0 Le Mans
Marseille 2-1 Troyes
Monaco 3-1 Lille
Rennes 3-2 Toulouse
Sedan 1-1 Nice
Sochaux 1-1 Lorient

April 22

Auxerre 0-0 Lyon
St. Etienne 0-2 Bordeaux

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The week's action saw two Wednesday games, the first of which was Nancy's trip to Bordeaux. Both teams had been a part of the no-goal fest of the weekend, niether able to score at all. Bordeaux had played out a draw with PSG, and Nancy with Troyes. Bordeaux were still within striking distance of Europe, while Nancy would just want to stay up at this rate. The home side was not to be disappointed on the day. Marouane Chamakh didn't even have to play through the first half before he got his brace, scoring in the 18th and 43rd minutes. With that lead, it was a bit of a doddle for Bordeaux after the half, and they were even able to poach another goal courtesy of Fernando Cavenaghi on the 55th minute. 3-0 was the final scoreline here, and Nancy drop points again and still sit in 15th. Bordeaux, with the win, move up into 4th on the day.

Lyon and Rennes met up in a clash that meant more to Rennes than the title holders. Rennes, with three points, would conceivably be in a UEFA Cup position. Lyon at home were tough though, and would be looking to cement the title once and for all. Both teams had played out boring matches the weekend previous, with Lyon scoring once, and Rennes not at all. This one was a snooze-fest as well, and nil-nil the final result. The first and second rated defenses in the league shut each other down to make for a uninteresting spectacle to be sure. The draw means that Lyon's title is put on hold until the weekend at least, and Rennes now sit in 9th.

PSG Hosted Nantes in a match that both teams needed points from in order to stay up. A PSG loss could mean they would get dragged back into the relegation mire, and Nantes needed all three to rise above their current 20th position. Last weekend both teams were part of nil-nil draws, just like almost every other team. Fortunately for the spectators, Pauleta's 17th minute goal made sure that that would not be the result this week. Midfielder Jerome Rothen made the score 2-0 before halftime. Nantes could not get anything going in the second half either, with Pauleta being their nemesis again in the 65th minute, and Peguy Luyindula scored one minute later to seal Nantes' fate at the bottom of the table. 4-0 was the final, and PSG save themselves from the relegation mire for one more week.

Nancy played their third match in a week when Valenciennes came to visit them Saturday afternoon. They hadn't been able to score a goal in either match, losing to Bordeaux and drawing with Troyes did little to improve their fortunes in the dangerous bottom half of the table. Valenciennes had done nothing but keep Marseille to a draw last weekend, and they were sitting just one place about Nancy in the standings. This was to be the home side's day, to be sure, even though they couldn't get much going offensively. The shots on goal were skewed in Nancy's favor 15 to 5, but the difference in this match was when Nancy was awarded a penalty on the 40th minute, which Benjamin Gavanon gladly converted. It was all Nancy needed, and 1-0 was the final. The Lorraine side move into 14th, and Valenciennes drop to 16th, still in relegation danger.

Le Mans took a trip to the Felix-Bollaert in Lens to face a team that had been nothing short of awful over the last month. Lens had dropped out of their Automatic European place due to the fact that they couldn't get a proper result, and last week played out a nil-nil draw in Nantes. Le Mans had done the same against Rennes, and they now sat in 11th. It looked as though this match was headed to the doldrums as well, despite some quality balls in. After the break, however, things opened right up and Eric Carriere scored his first of the season to give Lens the lead. Le Mans held tight and scrappy, but Seydou Kieta sealed the deal in the 89th minute to give Lens the win and lift them back into second place. Le Mans with the loss drop to 12th.

Pathetic Marseille had drawn Valenciennes last week, and were looking to maybe get three points against lowly Troyes, but it was a tough thing to ask. Troyes were in deep and could possibly get themselves out of their 18th place position with all three points here. Marseille were sitting in 6th, but could get back into European places with a win. Marseille were the better team on the day, but were still locked down well by a stingy Troyes defense for the first half. Marseille's Djibril Cisse got the ball rolling early in the second, but half an hour later Troyes' Zlad Jaziri scored to give the visitors hope for a point. Marseille were resilient though, and Modeste M'Bami scored 6 minutes later to get the win for the home side. Marseille now sit in 4th, and Troyes add to their relegation woes.

The Stade Louis II In Monte Carlo was the scene when Lille travelled south to the Riviera to meet up with Monaco. Monaco had drawn with Lorient last weekend and sat in 13th on the day. Lille were one of the few teams to win a match last weekend, they took Sochaux 2-0 and were sitting in 7th. Monaco came out flying, but it took them until the stroke of halftime to score. It was Camel Meriem who did the deed in the 42nd minute, and could have made it 2-0 when Monaco were awarded a penalty, but he hit the crossbar. Uplifted going into the second, Monaco continued to fly, and Sylvain Monsoreau put one away in the 68th, followed closely by Jérémy Menez less than 10 minutes later. Lille's only goal came too late, when striker Abdul Kader Keita made the score 3-1. The points dropped put a big dent in Lille's European hopes, and Monaco now sit in 11th.

About the only team on form in France these days was Toulouse, and they took the trip to Rennes to meet up with a team that hadn't been able to score once this past week against Le Mans or Lyon. Toulouse were in 2nd place now after stringing together results and taking the initiative. They could now see Europe looming, and would be unlikely to drop many points with Lens still nipping at their heels. From the get-go, this match had everything going for it, despite a tense opening half-hour. Toulouse were the first to score when high-flying midfielder Achille Emana got his 9th of the year. Rennes were undeterred, pelting the Toulouse net after the half and bossing the ball possession stats. Jimmy Briand leveled things off when Rennes were awarded a penalty in the 63rd minute, and Sylvain Marveaux got the home side one-up 12 minutes later. It was short-lived, however, as Jimmy Briand headed the ball into his own net trying to defend a Toulouse corner. Rennes waited until the stroke of time to net the winner, but they did, courtesy of Bruno Cheyrou. Rennes now move themselves into 6th, flying high for the first time this year. Toulouse drop to third courtesy of Lens' victory.

Another team that needed three point desperately was Sedan. They could conceivably get out of their 19th place and into somewhere a bit safer with a win here, and Nice was a team they could do it against, despite Nice's win against St. Etienne last Sunday. Nice were sitting dangerously in 16th, just a few points above the drop. This one was tense right down to the last 2 minutes of the game. The nil-nil scoreline held until the 88th minute, when Nice, who were on the back foot for most of the match, were awarded a penalty. Bakari Koné was happy to convert, and it looked as if it was all over for Sedan. An unbelievable stroke of luck happened for Sedan in injury time, however, when Nice's Olivier Echouafni tried to block a half-saved effort from his keeper but only succeeded in pushing the ball into his own goal. The result is not when either team would have wanted, as it still leaves them in dangerous territory as far as relegation is concerned.

Sochaux needed a win when they had Lorient at home. They had lost to Lille the weekend previous, and the loss put them in a place below the European spots where they had just been. Lorient, the masters of the nil-nil draw, were sitting mid-table and boring everyone to death with defensive football. This match was not to be the exception, except it had goals. Lorient played dull football for the first half, but were able to overcome the Sochaux defense in the 57th minute, when their big striker André-Pierre Gignac got one for the visitors. Sochaux dominated the possession stats, and their ball control got them a goal eventually, when Sebastian Grax scored in the 73rd to level it off. It was all either team could muster, and The shared points mean that Sochaux now sit in 7th, and Lorient remain in 10th.