Lille's hopes of gaining a place in the UEFA Champions
League qualifiers were significantly boosted on Sunday.
Rene Girard's men, who had won just two of their previous
nine Ligue 1 matches, recorded a 2-0 victory over Montpellier and now hold a
four-point advantage over fourth-placed Saint-Etienne, who went down 1-0 at
Lorient.
Goals in either half from Marko Basa and Nolan Roux made
the difference for Lille at Stade Pierre-Mauroy against their coach's former
club.
Basa headed home from Florent Balmont's 18th-minute
free-kick and Roux doubled the hosts' advantage 12 minutes into the second half
with an acrobatic volley after David Rozehnal had struck the crossbar.
If Lille were content at securing three points, a further
boost was not long in coming as their nearest rivals in the race for third
failed to follow suit.
Saint-Etienne enjoyed the better of the first half at
Lorient, but were unable to make a breakthrough.
The hosts hit the post through Vincent Aboubakar before
grabbing a dramatic 90th-minute winner from the penalty spot.
Josuha Guilavogui handled inside the penalty area and
Jeremie Aliadiere maintained his composure to convert from 12 yards, securing
Lorient's second win of the year.
There was even more late drama at Stade Jacques
Chaban-Delmas as Lyon grabbed two injury-time goals to earn a sensational 2-1
success against fellow European hopefuls Bordeaux.
Henri Saivet's seventh-minute strike gave Bordeaux the
lead and looked set to lift Francis Gillot's men above their opponents.
Yet Lyon turned things around in dramatic fashion, with
Henri Bedimo levelling in the 91st minute before teenager Corentin Tolisso
popped up with an unlikely winner on only his second Ligue 1 start.
Lyon now sit just three points behind Saint-Etienne, with
both sides facing stiff tests next Sunday against Monaco and Paris
Saint-Germain respectively.
Culled from Soccerway
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