Lens established in second
Lens consolidated second spot in Ligue 1 with a smash-and-grab victory over Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.
Aruna Dindane‘s penalty on the hour mark proved enough for the visitors to secure the win which takes them six points clear of third-placed Lille with 11 games remaining.
However, on-loan Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse did not impress the home fans and with 20 minutes remaining, was replaced by Mathieu Valbuena, leaving the pitch with the sound of disgruntled supporters ringing in his ears.
Nantes’ first win of 2007 lifted them off the bottom of the table and ensured Sochaux’s European hopes took a knock.
Neither side were in form going into the match, with Sochaux having only won once since the turn of the year themselves.
But this was still an unexpected result, with Dimitri Payet and Claudiu Andrei Keseru’s goals sandwiching a Sochaux penalty scored by Alvaro Santos.
The win, the first for interim coaching duo Michel Der Zakarian and Japhet N’Doram, lifts Nantes back above Sedan – who beat Paris St Germain on Saturday - while Sochaux fell to fifth, two points behind Toulouse.
