Newz Forum: SOCCER: France's La Ligue results 23/01/05

Monaco continue to put pressure on the top two in Ligue 1 after a convincing win 2-0 over Lens on Saturday.

Didier Deschamps' men had the points wrapped up by the interval with goals from Javier Saviola and Sisenado Maicon giving the home side what proved to be a match-winning lead. The result moves Monaco level on points with second-placed Lille, who face league leaders Lyon on Sunday, while defeat leaves Lens looking nervously over their shoulder at the drop zone and increases the pressure on their coach Joel Muller.


Marseille picked up their third consecutive victory to keep up the pressure on the top sides as they emerged with a narrow 1-0 win at Metz. Peguy Luyindula's goal in the 25th minute proved the difference between the two teams in an evenly fought game at the St-Symphorien Stadium.


Caen could not repeat their surprise midweek league cup win against Auxerre as the high flyers got their revenge with a 2-0 win. Caen shocked fourth-placed Auxerre in the cup quarter finals, winning 6-5 on penalties, but this defeat saw them slip further into relegation trouble. The home side dropped one place to 18th after second-half goals from Rene Bolf and Jean-Pascal Mignot gave Auxerre the win, and the Normandy side would surely swap their cup run for survival.


St Etienne extended their unbeaten run to nine matches but a 0-0 draw will be another blow to an out-of-sorts Paris St Germain side. The only statistics of note were the sendings-off in the second half of PSG's Bernard Mendy and St Etienne's Julien Sable.


Visions of European football are starting to dance in the minds of the Toulouse faithful after the club came from behind to beat Nantes 2-1 and stretch their unbeaten streak to 11 games.


Ajaccio remain deep in relegation trouble after slipping to a 2-0 defeat against mid-table Rennes.


A late hat-trick from Jeremy Menez saw Sochaux on their way to an emphatic, if flattering, 4-0 victory over 10-man Bordeaux at the Auguste Bonal Stadium.


An entertaining match from both sides was turned on its head shortly after the interval with the dismissal of David Jemmali leading to Bordeaux's downfall. The hosts then scored four times in the last 14 minutes with Sylvain Monsoreau's opener providing the platform for a late flurry from Mendez to move Sochaux up to seventh.


Bottom side Istres were foiled in their bid for a second consecutive win when they were held 1-1 by fellow strugglers Strasbourg. Mickael Pagis put the visitors ahead in first-half stoppage time from the penalty spot but Istres equalised early in the second half with a goal from Franck Chaussidiere.


It may not have been an easy three points, but Bastia were able to record only their fifth win of the season against Nice 2-0 to finally climb out of the relegation zone. The home side had won only once since mid-September, but goals from Frederic Nee and Youssouf Hadji in either half gave the Bastia faithful cause for celebration.

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