Bordeaux beats PSG 3-2 in French league
PARIS (AP) - Lyon failed to take full advantage of Paris Saint-Germain's slip-up in the race for the French title by drawing 0-0 at third-place Marseille on Sunday.
After PSG slumped to a third league defeat this season at Bordeaux in the afternoon, the game between the two best attacking teams in France produced a lively encounter but no goals as Lyon missed the chance to open up a four-point gap at the top of the standings.
With nine rounds left to play, Hubert Fournier's Lyon side sits two points above the defending champions, with Marseille two points further back.
In Bordeaux, Diego Rolan scored the winner with two minutes remaining in a 3-2 victory that ended PSG's 15-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
Rolan scored from Brazilian defender Mariano's cross with a shot between the legs of goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu. The strike came just four minutes after Zlatan Ibrahimovic had equalized from the penalty spot.
After ousting Chelsea from the Champions League after extra time in midweek, PSG players looked spent.
Chasing an unprecedented quadruple, PSG - which lost stalwart defender David Luiz and midfielder Yohan Cabaye through injury - is facing a hectic schedule in the coming weeks and still has to travel to play archrival Marseille this season.
"We came back late on Wednesday, we were tired both physically and mentally," PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot said. "This is not an excuse, but it's difficult, even though we are professionals."
Ibrahimovic scored twice at Chaban-Delmas stadium, having already put the teams level in the 50th minute from Javier Pastore's through ball after Lamine Sane jumped higher than Thiago Silva to open the scoring with a fine header to Sirigu's right.
Midfielder Wahbi Khazri then restored Bordeaux's lead from close range, pouncing on Kiese Thelin's glancing header after fluffing his first attempt on goal.
After the match, Ibrahimovic was caught on camera criticizing referee Lionel Jaffredo and using an expletive to describe France. He later apologized, but could be suspended by the league.
A record 63,832 spectators packed the Velodrome in Marseille, where France striker Andre-Pierre Gignac came close to put the hosts in the lead after three minutes. But his powerful left-foot shot was parried away by Lyon 'keeper Anthony Lopes.
The visitors responded immediately, with Jordan Ferri setting up Alexandre Lacazette on the left flank only for the league's top striker to lose his duel with Steve Mandanda.
Gignac struck the post in the 71st minute and Lopes was decisive again seven minutes from time when he saved Rod Fanni's header, although the ball looked to have crossed the line.
"Whether or not the goal was valid is not important," Marseille coach Marcelo Bielsa said. "The referee decided not to allow the goal. He might be right, or wrong. As we know that he is impartial, we accept the fact that he can make mistakes to our disadvantage."
Tempers frayed toward the end, with Marseille defender Jeremy Morel being sent off in the 85th minute for a dangerous tackle on Maxime Gonalons.
Mandanda then spared Marseille's blushes with a spectacular dive in the last minute to turn a shot from Corentin Tolisso away for a corner.
Earlier, Belgium striker Divock Origi ended a six-month scoring drought with a hat trick as Lille defeated Rennes 3-0.
Origi's goals secured a third consecutive win for Lille, which climbed to eighth in the standings, three points clear of the Brittany side.
Despite a bright opening spell, Rennes failed to convert its early chances and was then overrun by the hosts. Origi put Lille in front in the 38th minute from close range after making the most of a poor clearance from defender Fallou Diagne.
He doubled his tally from the spot in the 63rd, and then latched on to Nolan Roux's cross at the back post 10 minutes later to complete his hat trick.
Rennes should have equalized in the 49th when Ola Toivonen netted a clever lob that was incorrectly disallowed for offside.