Rennes Knock Off Monaco

At Rennes, France:

Carlos Bocanegra scored the game's lone goal at 28 minutes as Rennes defeated visiting AS Monaco 1-0 Saturday in Ligue 1 action. 

Bordeaux Proclaimed Top Dogs In France

At Caen, France:

Yoan Gouffran scored the game's only goal at 49 minutes as Bordeaux locked up their first Ligue 1 title since 1999 with a 1-0 road win over Caen, who by losing, were themselves relegated.

PSG Soap Opera: In The Top Flight For Another Year

At Sochaux, France:

Amara Diane's double (22', 83') enabled PSG to defeat hosts FC Sochaux 2-1 to secure another season in Ligue 1:

Diane opened the scoring in the 22nd minute and a battling performance from the capital club kept Sochaux at bay until Guirane N'Daw headed home in the 73rd minute.

But Diane fired home his second to ensure PSG escaped the drop by the skin of their teeth for a second successive season.

Pedro Pauleta should have signed off from Ligue 1 in style as he came close to firing his side into the lead with a well worked free-kick, but his effort hit the wall.

The folks at PSG had better be sure not to get into still another relegation battle next season or it may come back and bite them in the posterior section. Congratulations.

PSG Soap Opera: Out Of Relegation Zone

At Paris:

Johnny Clement's equalizer on 59 minutes lifted PSG to a 1-1 home draw with St. Etienne to climb to 16th place in Ligue 1 on Saturday:

Clement's strike cancelled out Loic Perrin's opener for the visitors on the stroke of half-time.

With relegation rivals Lens and Toulouse both losing, PSG vault above them out of the bottom three and are now a point clear of the drop zone heading into their last game, against Sochaux next Saturday.

The result means St Etienne drop to sixth, a point behind Lille in the race for the final UEFA Cup place.

Should PSG drop down from the top flight, Paris would be left as the only major European capital city without a top-flight soccer club.

PSG Soap Opera: Banned From Next Season's League Cup

More problems for Paris Saint Germain:

PSG, already in the Ligue 1 relegation zone, could have been punished with a points deduction. Instead, they remain on 38 points and 18th in the 20-team top flight.
The banner was briefly unfolded after the interval of the final on March 29, which PSG won 2-1 against northern club Racing Lens. It referred to a film about the life of the Ch'tis, a nickname for the people of northern France, which is breaking box offices records in France.
It read: 'Paedophiles, unemployed, inbred: welcome chez les Ch'tis.'

PSG Soap Opera Continues

Right, pal, blame everyone but yourself....

'If we have reached that point, it's perhaps because of the chairman, it's perhaps because of the coach, it's a lot because of the players,' he told a news conference a day after announcing his resignation.
'I'm angry with the players because they played the first part of the season gripped by fear.
'It's hard to play in Paris because of the pressure but when you play in Paris you are not allowed to be scared,' he added.
'I told them so on Monday. I also told them that nobody is asking them to love each other but that I ask them to present a united front because today the destiny of the club is at their feet.'

Anyhow, this relegation-threatened club named a new president on Wednesday.

Another Relegation Battle For PSG

This time, they may not be so fortunate:

Paris, capital of the vice-champions of the world, will be the only major European capital with no club in the top flight of national football.

It has been a calamitous week and a calamitous season for PSG, a club who seem to lurch from humiliation to disgrace to crisis. On Friday, the French interior ministry ordered the dissolution of the largest of the club's official clans of supporters, Les Boulogne Boys.

Last Sunday, PSG, leading with seven minutes to go, managed to lose 3-2 at home to Nice and fall into the relegation zone of Ligue 1 with five games to play. In between they scrambled a 1-0 cup victory against Carquefou, an amateur team from the fifth level of French football.

Ouch!

Oh, well, PSG lost again Saturday night, this time on the road at Caen 3-0.

Toulouse Picks Off Champions League Berth

Ten games were played on Saturday as the French Ligue 1 season drew to a close:

At Toulouse:

Thanks to Johan Elmander's hat trick (38', 51', 72'), Toulouse defeated visiting Bordeaux 3-1, enabling the hosts to claim the third and final UEFA Champions League berth.

At Lille:

Nicolas Fauvergue's equalizer at 90 minutes lifted Lille to a 1-1 home draw with Rennes, denying the visitors a berth in the UEFA Champions League. They will head to the UEFA Cup tournament instead.

At Monaco:

Jan Koller (10') and Frederic Piouionne (56') provided the tallies that powered AS Monaco to a 2-0 home win over AS Nancy Lorraine.

At Troyes:

In their final Ligue 1 match, Troyes wrecked the Champions League aspirations of Lens with their 3-0 home win. Gael Danic (8'), Blaise Matuidi (55'), and Yann Lachuer (57') provided the relegated hosts with the goals.

At Lorient:

Pedro Pauleta provided the only goal (54') in Paris Saint Germain's 1-0 road victory at Lorient's expense.

At Nice:

Ismael Bangoura (60') and Daisuke Matsui (65') registered the tallies that enabled Le Mans to come back from a two-goal deficit to gain a 3-3 road draw with Nice. The hosts' David Bellion scored twice (PK-30', 53').

At Valenciennes:

Visiting AJ Auxerre, thanks to goals from Daniel Niculae (17'), Thomas Kahlenberg (21'), and Kevin Lejeune (90'), held off Valenciennes 3-1.

At Lyon:

One day after announcing plans to step down as manager, Gerard Houllier went out in style as his championship Lyon squad easily handled hapless and relegated FC Nantes Atlantique 3-1. Florent Malouda scored twice (22', 86') for the hosts.

At Montbeliard:

Anthony Le Tallec scored the lone goal (20') in FC Sochaux-Montbeliard's 1-0 home win over St. Etienne.

At Marseille:

Samir Nasri's goal at 61 minutes was the lone tally of the match as Champions League-bound Marseille defeated visiting and Ligue 2-bound Sedan 1-0.

TROYES RELEGATED; CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BERTH FOR MARSEILLE

Ten games were played on Saturday in France's Ligue 1:

At St. Etienne:

Mathieu Valbuena scored the game winner (86') as Marseille sewed up a spot in next season's Champions League group stage with their 2-1 road win over St. Etienne.

At Paris:

Pedro Pauleta's double (PK-70', 77') lifted Paris Saint Germaine to a 2-1 come-from-behind home win over Troyes which guaranteed the hosts Ligue 1 soccer for next season, while the loss clinched relegation to Ligue 2 for the guests.

At Monte Carlo:

Jeremy Menez scored the game's lone goal (58') as AS Monaco blanked visiting champions Lyon 1-0.

At Sedan:

Valencienne secured Ligue 1 soccer for next season with their 1-1 road draw with already-relegated Sedan. The visitors' Eric Hassili scored at 50 minutes, then the hosts Joseph-Desire Job, at 64 minutes, equalized.

At Nancy:

Marc-Antoine Fortune (20', 80') scored twice to help spark an offensive barrage for AS Nancy Lorraine as the hosts belted Sochaux 5-2, severly damaging the visitors' hopes of European competition for next season.

At Auxerre:

Ireneusz Jelen's goal at 79 minutes lifted AJ Auxerre to a 2-1 home triumph over Lille.

At Nantes:

Already-relegated FC Nantes Atlantique ended Toulouse's hopes for European competition by holding the guests to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Le Mans:

Edixon Perea's equalizer (68') enabled visiting Bordeux to gain a 1-1 road draw with Le Mans, whose Grafite opened the scoring at 58 minutes. The guests saw their hopes for Champions League automatic qualification go up in smoke, but they still have a shot at a qualifying berth.

At Lens:

Lens can lock up a qualifying berth for next season's UEFA Champions League with a win next week. This after their 0-0 home stalemate with Nice.

At Rennes:

For different goal scorers tallied once apiece as Rennes kept their chances of European play next season (either UEFA Cup or Champions League) with their 4-1 home spanking of Lorient.

Bordeaux Up To Second Place

Here's a wrapup of the Ligue 1 weekend action in France.

Here's a peek at the standings:

Standings
Team	P	W	D	L	Pts	GF	GA	Diff
1. Lyon	34	22	8	4	74	57	24	+33
2. Bordeaux	34	16	7	11	55	37	30	+7
3. Lens	34	14	11	9	53	45	35	+10
4. Marseille	34	15	7	12	52	46	35	+11
5. Toulouse	34	15	7	12	52	41	39	+2
6. Rennes	34	13	12	9	51	31	26	+5
7. Sochaux	34	12	12	10	48	40	42	-2
8. St Etienne	34	13	7	14	46	49	45	+4
9. Lille	34	12	10	12	46	40	37	+3
10. Lorient	34	11	13	10	46	29	31	-2
11. Monaco	34	11	12	11	45	40	34	+6
12. Auxerre	34	10	15	9	45	34	37	-3
13. Le Mans	34	10	13	11	43	39	41	-2
14. AS Nancy	34	11	10	13	43	28	38	-10
15. Paris Saint Germain	34	10	11	13	41	38	39	-1
16. Valenciennes	34	10	9	15	39	33	43	-10
17. Nice	34	8	14	12	38	30	34	-4
18. Troyes	34	8	11	15	35	33	49	-16
19. Sedan	34	6	13	15	31	41	53	-12
20. Nantes	34	6	12	16	30	26	45	-19

Champs Lyon Held to Scoreless Draw; Bordeaux Wins

Two games were played on Sunday in France's Ligue 1:

At Auxerre:

Having clinched their sixth consecutive Ligue 1 title, thanks to Toulouse's 3-2 Saturday defeat to Rennes, Lyon was held to a 0-0 road draw by AJ Auxerre.

At St. Ettiene:

Bordeuax moved up to third place in the Ligue 1 standings, thanks to their 2-0 blanking of hosts St. Etienne. Fernando Menegazzo (50') and Gabriel Obertain (90') provided the victors with the goals.

LYON CROWNED CHAMPIONS AGAIN---This Time By Doing Nothing As Rennes Downed Toulouse

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

At Rennes:

Bruno Cheyrou scored the game-winning goal at 87 minutes to lift Rennes to a 3-2 home win over Toulouse. The defeat suffered by TFC clinched the sixth consecutive Ligue 1 championship for Lyon.

At Lens:

Eric Carriere (57') and Seydou Keita (89') provided the scoring that lifted Lens back up to second place in the Ligue 1 standings, thanks to their 2-0 home win over Le Mans.

At Paris:

Pedro Pauleta's double (17', 65') played a big part in Paris Saint Germain's 4-0 home rout of basement club FC Nantes Atlantique as PSG continued their climb away from the relegation zone.

At Monte Carlo:

AS Monaco dominated visiting Lille 3-1, creating serious damage to the Mastiffs' chances of playing Champions League soccer next season. Camel Meriem (42'), Sylvain Monsoreau (68'), and Jeremy Menez (76') provided the principality club with the goals.

At Nancy:

Benjamin Gavanon all but locked up AS Nancy Lorraine's place in next season's Ligue 1 action with his successful 40th-minute penalty kick, as the hosts defeated Valenciennes 1-0.

At Sedan:

In a relegation battle contest, Bakari Kone's successful penalty kick (88') put visiting Nice up 1-0, only to see his teammate Olivier Echouafni score an own goal at 90 minutes, lifting second-from-bottom Sedan to a 1-1 draw at game's end.

At Marseille:

Modeste M'Bami's game winner (86') lifted Champions League hopefuls Marseille to a 2-1 home win over relegation-threatened Troyes.

At Montbeliard:

Sebastien Grax scored the equalizer at 73 minutes, lifted Sochaux to a 1-1 home deadlock with Lorient.

Red and Blacks Put Lyon Title Celebration On Hold; Bordeuax Blank Nancy

Two games were played Wednesday in France's Ligue 1:

At Lyon:

Visiting Rennes prevented Lyon from clinching their sixth straight league title by holding the hosts to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Bordeuax:

Marouane Chamakh's first-half double (18', 43') helped powered Bordeuax to a 3-0 home whitewashing of AS Nancy Lorraine. The win placed the Girondins in fourth place (a UEFA Cup berth) in the Ligue 1 standings, only one point out of a Champions League qualification berth.

Home Wins For Lyon and Nice

Two games were contested Sunday in France's Ligue 1:

At Lyon:

Lyon closed to within one win of their sixth consecutive league crown with a 1-0 home win over relegation-threatened Sedan. Hatem Ben Afra scored the game's lone goal at 44 minutes.

At Nice:

David Bellion's double (70', PK-81') propelled Nice to a nice come-from-behind 2-1 home win over St. Etienne as the hosts now find themselves four points above the relegation zone.

Toulouse Up To Second Place; Six Scoreless Draws

Saturday found six games contested in France's Ligue 1:

At Toulouse:

Achille Emana (7') and Fode Mansare (30') provided the scoring for Toulouse as the hosts climbed up to second place in the Ligue 1 standings with their 2-0 home blanking of AJ Auxerre.

At Lille:

Lille, thanks to goals from Nicolas Fauvergue (49') and Kevin Mirallas (66'), blanked visiting Sochaux 2-0.

At Bordeuax:

Paris Saint Germaine and homecoming Bordeaux played to a 0-0 draw.

At Nantes:

Visiting Lens (who now dropped to third place) and cellar-dwelling FC Nantes Atlantique battled to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Le Mans:

Visting Rennes and Stimpy---I mean---Le Mans battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Troyes:

Homestanding Troyes blew a chance to escape the relegation zone when they were held to a 0-0 deadlock by AS Nancy Lorraine.

At Lorient:

Visiting Monaco and Lorient engaged in a contest that ended stalemated at 0-0.

At Valenciennes:

Marseille blew a chance to climb up to fourth place by settling for a 0-0 road deadlock with Valenciennes.

Toulouse Up To Third Place After Beating Sedan; Marseille Maul Mastiffs

Two Sunday games were contested in France's Ligue 1:

At Sedan:

Late second-half goals from Paulo Cesar (78') and Albin Ebondo (85') lifted Toulouse to a 2-0 home win over Sedan that placed the visitors in third place in the Ligue 1 standings (and a Champions League qualifying berth).

At Marseille:

Olympique de Marseille climbed up to fifth place in Ligue 1 with their 4-1 belting of sagging and visiting Lille. Mamadou Niang (PK-9', 90') and Renato Civelli (38', 63') each scored twice for the hosts.

Lyon Held To Scoreless Draw With Valenciennes; Rennes Shock Lens

Eight games were played on Saturday in France's Ligue 1:

At Valenciennes:

Valenciennes held league-leading Lyon to a 0-0 home deadlock.

At Rennes:

John Utaka's goal at 30 minutes was the only score of a match that saw Rennes knock off second-place Lens at home 1-0.

At Paris:

Pegguy Luyindula (56') Amara Diane (81') enabled Paris Saint Germain to come from a one-goal halftime deficit to defeat visiting Le Mans 2-1 and move three points of the relegation zone.

At Nancy:

Rafik Saifi's succussful penalty kick at 69 minutes lifted Lorient into tenth place in the Ligue 1 standings, defeating sagging AS Nancy Lorraine 1-0 on the road.

At Auxerre:

Bordeaux and homestanding AJ Auxerre battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Montbeliard:

Sochaux moved into third place following their 1-1 home draw with Nice. David Bellion put the guests in front at 68 minutes, only to see the hosts' Beli-Moumouni Dagano tie it up at 71 minutes.

At Monte Carlo:

AS Monaco and relegation threatened Troyes battled to a 0-0 deadlock.

At St. Etienne:

Fifth-place St. Etienne racked up a 2-1 home triumph at the expense of basement-residing FC Nantes Atlantique. Vincent Hognon (27') and Bafetimbi Gomis (34') provided the scoring for Les Verts.

PSG Escape Drop Zone; Toulouse and Sochaux Continue Battle For Third

Seven Ligue 1 contests took place throughout France on Sunday:

At Lens:

Goals from Amara Diane (2') and Sylvain Armand (72') lifted Paris Saint Germain out of the relegation zone as the guests knocked off second-place Lens 2-1.

At Troyes:

Romain Pitau (33') provided the only goal of the match as Sochaux clinged onto third place and France's last Champions League berth by knocking hosts Troyes into the drop zone 1-0.

At Toulouse:

Toulouse ended a three-game winless streak and resumed their quest for a Champions League berth with a 1-0 home win over St. Etienne. Johan Elmander provided the game's lone tally at 72 minutes.

At Nantes:

In a battle of relegation zone residents, Sedan picked up a key win on the road ,1-0 over FC Nantes Atlantique, to pull themselves out of last place, which is where the hosts now reside. David Ducourtioux (61') provided the score for Les Sangliers.

At Le Mans:

AJ Auxerre came back from a 2-0 second-half deficit to gain a 2-2 road draw with Le Mans. Kanga Akale (66') and Younes Kaboul (71') scored the tying goals for the guests.

At Lille:

Lille blew a chance to take over third place in the Ligue 1 standings as the homestanding Mastiffs were knocked off at home 2-0 by Valenciennes. Geoffrey Doumeng (78') and Eric Hassli (90') provided the tallies for Les Atheniens.

At Nice:

In what you might call a Ligue 1 Mediterranean Derby, AS Monaco, thanks to Jaroslav Plasil's equalizer at 80 minutes, gained a 1-1 road deadlock with Nice.

Marseille Foiled

At Lorient:

In the only Ligue 1 match on Saturday, Rafik Saifi (60') and Ulrich Le Pen (74') each scored once at Lorient held off Marseille 2-1, preventing the guests from climbing up to third place in the league standings.

Auxerre Top Lens; Another Setback For PSG

Two games were played on Sunday in France's Ligue 1:

At Auxerre:

Thomas Kahlengberg scored the lone goal of the match (17') as AJ Auxerre knocked off second-place Lens at home 1-0.

At Rennes:

Jimmy Briand's goal (76') was the only tally of a match that saw Rennes continue the recent domestic misery of visiting--and relegation-threatened---Paris Saint Germain, 1-0.