Busy Saturday In Ligue 1

Eight games were contested Saturday in France's Ligue 1:

At Valenciennes:

Lens, thanks to goals from Eric Carriere (28'), Seydou Keita (45'), and Issam Jomaa (90'), climbed into second place in the league standings following their 3-1 home victory over struggling Valenciennes.

At Lille:

Nantes and homestanding Lille battled to a 0-0 stalemate which saw the Mastiffs fall from second to third place in the league standings.

At Nice:

Nice picked up a nice 2-0 home win over Bordeaux, as Honorato Campos Ederson tallied twice (12', 26').

At Nancy:

AS Nancy Lorraine went into the win column for the first time Christmas, defeating visiting Toulouse 2-1. Gaston Curbelo (15') and Marc-Antoine Fortune (77') provided the scoring for the hosts.

At Sochaux:

Guests Rennes battled Sochaux to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Lorient:

Steve Marlet's game winner (90') lifted Lorient to a 2-1 home triumph over Le Mans.

At St. Etienne:

Basement-occupying Sedan stunned St. Etienne on the road 2-1. The hosts' Lamine Diatta's own goal (71') provided the guests with the margin of victory as they came back from a 1-0 halftime deficit.

At Monte Carlo:

AS Monaco helped their chances of staying in Ligue 1 for another year as they held off guests AJ Auxerre 2-1. Serge Gakpe (37') and Frederic Piquionne (PK-64') provided the scoring for the Red And White.