Ligue 1 wrap: Lille win as Marseille falter

Lille kept their faint title hopes alive with a late goal sealing a 1-0 win at Lorient in French Ligue 1 on Saturday.

The visitors were 11 points behind league leaders Paris Saint-Germain before the match and needed a victory to keep their title defence going.

Lille got the crucial goal 14 minutes from time through a counter-attack featuring Eden Hazard and Dimitri Payet, which eventually saw Mathieu Debuchy score to move Rudi Garcia’s side within eight points of PSG and seven behind second-placed Montpellier.

The result moved Lille three points ahead of Marseille, who were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw at home against Valenciennes.

Marseille took the lead in the 16th minute when Alou Diarra rose highest to head home Rod Fanni’s cross but the visitors from northern France equalised six minutes after the break.

An in-swinging corner caused confusion in the home side’s penalty area and the ball fell to Carlos Gil who struck from two yards out.

In an entertaining finish to the game, neither side could create a winning goal despite numerous opportunities.

In Dijon, the home side secured their first win in four matches with a comfortable 3-0 victory over relegation strugglers Nice.

On-loan Chelsea forward Gael Kakuta opened the scoring one minute before half-time after Brice Jovial’s neat control allowed him to slam home the ball from the left wing for his third goal since his loan move began.

The favour was returned after the interval when Kakuta set up Jovial in the 53rd minute.

Koro Kone made the game safe late on to secure an emphatic win for Dijon.

In other Ligue 1 results, relegation-threatened pair Sochaux and Auxerre both failed to secure a much-needed win in a match that ended 0-0, Toulouse defeated Nancy 3-0, Caen and Evian shared the points in a 2-2 draw, while Ajaccio were held by Stade Brestois in a 0-0 stalemate.