Bordeaux's hopes of ending their ten-year wait for the league title were boosted when defending champions Lyon beat Marseille 3-1 at their imposing Velodrome stadium. Karim Benzema proved a two-goal hero for Claude Puel's visitors, beating Steve Mandanda from the spot with a first half penalty before coolly slotting past the Marseille keeper after a defence-splitting pass on 42 minutes.

Marseille dominated for periods in the first half with Mahamadou Niang hitting the post with a bullet strike in the 16th minute. Just how costly his miss was became apparent when Benzema scored from the penalty spot in the 29th minute after he was brought down by Brazilian Brandao. Benzema's second seemed to take the wind out of Marseille's sails.

The hosts struggled to get back into the match in a somewhat dull second half that was livened up when Benzema pounced on a defensive error to test Mandanda again, only this time the keeper won their duel. Marseille reduced the arrears in the 80th minute through Sylvain Wiltord, but despite a late rally by the hosts, their brief revival came too late.

In the fourth minute of injury time a superb long-range free-kick from Brazilian Juninho stunned the hosts. Nevertheless, with two games remaining, it is still all to play for in a league that has been incredibly hard to predict this season.

Bordeaux face Monaco next week at home then Caen away on the final match day while Marseille travel to Nancy next week before hosting Rennes on 30 May. Lyon are already out of the title race, but are still battling to secure a UEFA Champions League spot for next season. This latest victory hoists them up to third at the expense of Paris Saint-Germain - who were stunned 2-1 by Auxerre on Saturday - on 67 points, four behind Marseille and seven behind Bordeaux.

Lille held
Lille's Europa League ambitions suffered a blow as they were held 1-1 by mid-table Nice at the Stade Metropole. Anthony Modeste gave the southern visitors the advantage, but Yohan Cabaye equalised for Lille, who are now two points behind Toulouse in the race to finish fifth and a claim a place in Europe.

Belgian ace Eden Hazard was a lively figure for Lille again and after some good work down the left he found Pierre Alain Frau in the box, but he miscued his effort in the 24th minute. Nice's opener came against the run of play ten minutes later as Modeste's low shot from the edge of the area beat Ludovic Butelle in the Lille goal.

Lille finally equalised with 19 minutes to go, with goalkeeper David Ospina at fault. He came to collect a Ludovic Obraniak corner, but missed the ball completely under pressure from Adil Rami, allowing Cabaye to poke the ball into an empty net for an easy finish.

Sow rescues Rennes
Nantes remain in deep trouble at the bottom of the table after Moussa Sow's late equaliser denied them all three points against Rennes this afternoon. Les Canaris looked set for a crucial win when Mamadou Bagayoko gave them the lead four minutes before the break and they dominated the second half.

But Sow intervened in the 84th minute to leave Nantes three points from safety in 19th position and needing favourable results elsewhere in the final two rounds of matches if they are to beat the drop. The point keeps Rennes in with a slim chance of making a Europa League spot.