Lyon extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to seven points, whilst at the other end Metz are down.
Lyon extend lead as Metz go down
Lyon extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to seven points, whilst at the other end Metz were relegated after losing to Marseille.
Second placed Bordeaux do not play until Sunday but Lyon could not take full advantage as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Rennes.
The champions looked on their way to victory as Cris put them ahead after 16 minutes - but in the final-minute Stephane M'bia clinched a share of the spoils for the visitors.
Marseille's win at Metz helped them into third, whilst also relegating Les Grenats.
Cedric Barbosa put Metz ahead after just three minutes but Marseille hit back just ten minutes later through Djibril Cisse.
The winner came just before the hour when Samir Nasri pounced.
Marseille moved into third as Nancy dropped to fourth following their 2-1 loss at Lille.
All the goals arrived in the first half as Lille took a 2-0 lead through Michael Fernandes Bastos (15) and Kevin Mirallas (38).
Andre Luiz pulled one back just before the interval for Nancy but they could not find an equalizer. Pierre-Alain Frau was dismissed late on for Lille.
Le Mans moved level with fifth placed St Etienne after a 3-0 win over Auxerre.
Goals from Mamadou Samassa (27), Anthony Le Tallec (59) and Stephane Sessegnon (71) were enough for Le Mans.
Le Mans were able to move level with Les Verts after they were held to a 1-1 draw at Sochaux.
Ilan put St Etienne ahead but Sebastien Grax levelled on 69 minutes to seal a share of the spoils.
Toulouse bolstered their survival hopes with a tremendous 2-0 win at Monaco - who themselves are just five points off the drop.
Goals early in each half from Laurent Batlles (4) and Johan Elmander (46) was enough for the Pink City outfit.
Lorient and Valenciennes both moved into the top half of the table as Lens and Strasbourg remain in the bottom three.
Lorient sealed a 1-0 win over Lens thanks to Rafik Saifi's (84) late goal - the draw would have taken Les Sang et Or above Paris Saint Germain and out of the drop zone.
Valenciennes star Steve Savidan grabbed a brace (26 & 42) to seal their win. Strasbourg remain level on points with Lens and PSG, but goal difference keeps them second from bottom.
Click below for match summaries:
Le Mans 3 Auxerre 0
Lille 2 Nancy 1
Lorient 1 Racing Lens 0
Lyon 1 Rennes 1
Metz 1 Marseille 2
Monaco 0 Toulouse 2
Sochaux 1 St Etienne 1
Valenciennes 2 Strasbourg 0
