Lille continue fairytale run
PARIS - French league leaders Lille continued their fairytale run with a 2-0 home win over Toulouse which re-established their five-point advantage on Sunday.
Ivory Coast's Gervinho bundled the ball home on 38 minutes after Ligue 1 top scorer Moussa Sow's effort was palmed on to the post.
The goal summed up a scrappy affair on a heavy pitch but the hosts, held at Auxerre last weekend, deservedly doubled their lead in stoppage time when Tulio De Melo scored on a breakaway at their small stadium.
Last term's fourth-placed side continue to confound those waiting for the bubble to burst for a modest team eyeing a first title since 1954.
Goalkeeper Mickael Landreau made his 500th top-flight appearance but was rarely troubled by mid-table Toulouse.
Fellow surprise packages Stade Rennes earlier won 2-0 at home to Nice to climb to second and complete the unusual look at the top of the table with just three months left in the season.
Rennes, who lost to second-tier Stade de Reims in the French Cup last 16 earlier this month, broke the deadlock after 52 minutes thanks to Colombian striker Victor Montano's header and Togo's Razak Boukari netted a penalty soon after.
"It's a great satisfaction," said Rennes coach Frederic Antonetti, who told some of his players they were not good enough after the Reims loss.
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"I've always said that there were five teams who have greater room to manoeuvre than us. Our aim is to be there if one of them doesn't make it."
One of the "big five", Paris Saint-Germain, were second going into the weekend games but drew 0-0 at home to Racing Lens on Saturday having lost 1-0 at Rennes last week.
Champions Olympique Marseille are third after Saturday's 2-1 success at Sochaux with PSG fourth on exactly the same record as Olympique Lyon who triumphed 4-1 at Saint Etienne in the weekend's big derby.
Mid-table Valenciennes won 3-0 at home to Stade Brest on Sunday.