Lens reclaim top spot in Ligue 1 with Nice win / Photo: Francois LO PRESTI - AFP
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Lens reclaim top spot in Ligue 1 with Nice win
Lens leapfrogged reigning French and European champions Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1 with an Odsonne Edouard-inspired 2-0 win over crisis-club Nice on Sunday.
Pierre Sage's upstarts have been the surprise packages of the season so far in France and entered the weekend top of the pile until PSG's nervy 3-2 victory over lowly Metz on Saturday provisionally returned the Qatari-backed club to the summit of the table.
But Lens once again took over top spot with their sixth consecutive win in the league to move to 37 points, one ahead of PSG, and ensure that they will sit atop the Ligue 1 tree over the winter break.
Former Celtic and Crystal Palace striker Edouard scored a brace with headers either side of the break to set Lens on their way.
The opener was a sublime glancing effort on the quarter-hour that looped over the helpless Yehvann Diouf and dropped in under the crossbar after Edouard had met Matthieu Udol's cross from beyond the near post.
The duo combined again on 57 minutes, with Edouard this time popping up unmarked at the back post, to condemn Franck Haise's free-falling Nice to yet another defeat.
The south coast side have lost their last nine outings in all competitions and also face upcoming home matches behind closed doors due to repeated crowd disturbances earlier in the season.
In a separate incident, a group of ultras confronted the team outside Nice's training ground after they had lost away to Lorient at the end of November and forced them off their bus before allegedly attacking some of the players.
Lille, five points adrift of arch-rivals Lens in provisional third place, won a 4-3 thriller at struggling Auxerre with both sides finishing with nine men.
A chaotic final 10 minutes threw up three goals and two red cards as Benjamin Andre's 86th-minute winner edged Bruno Genesio's side over the line.
Strasbourg were held to a goalless draw at home to Lorient, who moved ahead of Nice into 12th.
In the day's early kick-off, Pavel Sulc scored the only goal as Lyon beat Le Havre to close to within two points of Marseille in fourth.
Roberto De Zerbi's side can widen that gap and retake third spot when they host Monaco in the weekend's final match.
A.Mahlangu--AMWN