Bordeaux and Marseille on road to Europe

AFP - 29 April 2007 23:26

Marseille midfielder Franck Ribery celebrates after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match Marseille vs Sochaux, at the velodrome stadium in Marseille. Marseille won 4-2.

PARIS (AFP) - Former champions Bordeaux were forced to flex their muscles but emerged with a 1-0 win over Lens on Sunday to maintain their hopes of a Champions League place next season.

Bordeaux moved up to second ahead of their visitors, but had to battle for the pleasure in a testosterone-fuelled encounter which produced seven yellow cards and one sending-off.

The hosts were reduced to 10 men following a second caution to David Jemmali for dissent, but Ricardo's men dug deep to hold on to a 13th minute goal from former Lens midfielder Ferreyra Jussie.

With Lyon crowned champions for the sixth consecutive season last week, and 2-1 winners over Le Mans on Saturday, the race for Europe with only four games to play is heating up.

Bordeaux have 55 points and a two-point lead on Lens, in third, while Toulouse have 52 and Rennes 51.

Marseille sat sixth on 49 points before their match on Sunday, but moved up two places to fourth on 52 after they hammered Sochaux 4-2.

With the top three teams going into the Champions League, Marseille have 'Europe' written all over them - if they can reproduce the game they played against Sochaux against some of the continent's big boys.

Midfielder Lorik Cana equalised Jerome Leroy's fifth-minute opener for the visitors in the 13th minute, and Marseille then moved up a gear in a superb second half with goals from Djibril Cisse, Samir Nasri and Franck Ribery.

France international Ribery was sublime, playing a decisive role in both Cisse and Nasri's goals before turning on the style in the final five minutes to get on the scoresheet with a cheeky chip with the outside of his right boot.

Sochaux claimed a late consolation goal when Julien Rodriguez turned an own goal into the Marseille net with his shoulder.

Toulouse missed the chance to bolster their unlikely Champions League hopes on Saturday when they fell victim to Paris St Germain's late season fightback.

PSG won 3-1 to claim their 10th league win and fourth from their last five matches to help stave off the threat of relegation.

Marseille's win means Toulouse then dropped to fifth on goal difference.

Though not mathematically assured of top flight survival, PSG manager Paul Le Guen is full of belief.

"I'm very optimistic (of beating relegation), even though mathematically we're not in the clear yet," said the Frenchman, whose side moved up to 14th nine points ahead of third-from-bottom Troyes.

Toulouse took a ninth minute lead through Fode Mansare, who slalomed his way through five PSG defenders before beating Mickael Landreau in the PSG goal.

However PSG regathered their confidence to hit back with goals from Peguy Luyindula, Edouard Cisse and Jerome Rothen.

Luyindula was sent off for a second bookable offence nine minutes before the final whistle, but despite their handicap PSG battled till the end and were rewarded with a third goal, from Rothen, in the third minute of injury time.

"We would have quite happily settled for a draw," said the midfielder.

"So you can imagine how (happy) we feel, even though, mathematically, we're still not safe from the drop."

At the other end of the table, the future is looking decidedly flat for former champions Nantes, who suffered a 2-0 home defeat to stay rooted to the bottom of the table.

The 'Canaries' are five points behind Troyes and a point behind Sedan.