Monaco maintain winning ways but Lyon slip up

Monaco capped off a fine week in which they qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Nantes to push them six points clear at the top of the French first division.

Their nearest rivals Lyon had squandered the chance to keep up the pressure on Didier Deschamps' buoyant side earlier when losing 3-1 to Rennes.

Monaco had Lucas Bernardi's 77th minute goal to thank for their win.

The Argentine midfielder was set up by Fernando Morientes, his right-footed shot from 20 metres flying past the diving keeper Mickael Landreau and into the top left hand corner of the net.

"Lucas doesn't score many goals (this was his second in 75 matches) but this one was super!" said Deschamps.

Morientes, whose strike against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday had kept Monaco's European dream well and truly alive, was also praised by the Monaco coach.

"With Fernando playing like he is and the team sticking together so well I've got less to worry about," he said.

In contrast Lyon have endured a desperate few days, losing to Anderlecht in the Champions League followed by their painful visit to Brittany on Saturday.

Paul Le Guen's reigning champions were sitting pretty when Florent Malouda put them ahead on 22 minutes.

But then the visitor's fortunes changed dramatically.

Just two minutes later, Rennes defender Dominique Arribage equalized, then an own goal by Lyon keeper Nicolas Puydebois six minutes before the break put the home side ahead before the fixture really went pear-shaped for Lyon when Mahamadou Diarra was sent off for his second yellow card in the 42nd minute.

Alexander Frei made the game safe by scoring Rennes' third goal with a quarter of an hour left.

Lyon, unbeaten in the league since a 2-0 loss to Guingamp on August 30, were suffering their third defeat of the campaign.

"It's been a really bad week," conceded Le Guen.

"We wanted this one but not as much as Rennes."

Bottom club Toulouse did themselves no favours losing 2-1 to Ajaccio but Le Mans, one off the foot of the table, enjoyed a morale boosting 4-0 victory over Montpellier.

Elsewhere Nice and Metz drew 1-1, and Strasbourg and Lille ended 2-2.

The weekend programme finishes on a high-risk note on Sunday evening when old rivals Marseille entertain Paris Saint Germain in one of the league's most fiercely-contested fixtures.