Andre heads home winner for Lille in French league

PARIS (AP) - Benjamin Andre scored the only goal as Lille kept the pressure on the top three with a 1-0 win at Nantes in the French league on Sunday.

The northern side dominated from the start and created many chances before Andre found a way past goalkeeper Alban Lafont, who kept Nantes' hopes alive for almost an hour with a series of decisive saves.

But Lafont was powerless when Andre headed home a corner from Renato Sanches at the near post in the 58th minute.

Having taken 15 points in its last six games, Lille stayed in the hunt for Champions League qualification, just one point behind third-place Rennes. Runaway leader Paris Saint-Germain has a 13-point lead over second-place Marseille.

Elsewhere, Adam Ounas scored with a spectacular scissor-kick as he was leaping backward to meet a cross, earning midtable Nice a 1-1 draw at his former club Bordeaux.

His 57th-minute goal canceled out forward Nicolas de Preville's opener midway through the first half. He rounded goalkeeper Walter Benitez - who had rushed off his line - and tapped home.

Later Sunday, Lyon hosted bitter local rival Saint-Étienne.

A fight involving the rival fans in Lyon left nine people injured on Saturday night, when about 100 from each side met on a city-center side street in what appeared to be a pre-arranged clash.

A group of hardcore Saint-Etienne fans had disregarded a travel ban preventing them from attending the game. The 'œMagic Fans'ť group announced on social networks that they were making the short 60-kilometer (37-mile) trip. Three of the injured were taken to hospital with head injuries.

Their club rivalry is one of the fiercest in French football.

Saint-Etienne won a record 10 league titles before falling into mediocrity in the 1980s in the aftermath of a financial scandal, while Lyon won seven straight titles from 2002-08.

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