Lyon maintained their two point advantage over fourth-placed Saint-Etienne on Sunday as they fought out a 1-1 draw in a typically hotly contested derby. Lyon's playmaker Yoann Gourcuff grabbed a share of the spoils with the equaliser in the 55th minute in what was as usual a high voltage affair with the game being held up for a number of minutes as both sets of supporters fought with each other.

Marseille strengthened their grip on Champions League football next season while retaining an outside chance of pipping bitter rivals Paris Saint-Germain to the Ligue 1 crown with a 1-0 win away to Lorient on Sunday. Mathieu Valbuena struck the decisive goal after 25 minutes at Stade du Moustoir as Marseille secured their 12th 1-0 victory of the campaign to extend their unbeaten run in the league to eight matches.

Saint-Etienne remained firmly in the hunt for a place in next season's Champions League after coming from behind to defeat visiting Ajaccio 4-2 on Wednesday. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted twice to take his season's tally to 19, while Mathieu Bodmer and Renaud Cohade were also on target after Adrian Mutu had struck the opener for Ajaccio with the Romanian then adding a late consolation for the Corsican club.

Rennes coach Frederic Antonetti said Tuesday he will leave the Brittany club at the end of the season when his current four-year deal runs out. The 51-year-old's announcement comes just a few days after his side lost the French League Cup final to Saint-Etienne. "After four great years my adventure with Stade Rennais FC will come to an end. I have, in effect, decided to leave the club, in part due to this difficult end to the season," Antonetti said in a statement published on the club's website staderennais.com.