Lyon served notice they are still in the chase for the Ligue 1 title with a 3-2 victory over defending champions Olympique Marseille at the Gerland Stadium.

Leaders Lille moved four points clear of second-placed Marseille after winning at third-bottom Nancy yesterday as Lyon stayed in touch seven points behind the leaders in third place with four games left to play.

After a lacklustre first half in which the only goal scored was a controversial penalty taken by Lisandro Lopez after being fouled by defender Souleymane Diawara, the clash between the title rivals sparked to life late in the second half.

It would have been very, very hard on the morale if we hadn't won this evening.
Claude Puel, Lyon coach

Cesar Delgado looked to have buried Marseille when he doubled Lyon's account after 69 minutes only for Lucho Gonzalez to hit back a minute later, with Loic Remy proving Marseille were very much alive when he pulled them level after 78 minutes.

Cris scored followed Remy's equaliser with a winner six minutes from time, sealing all three points for the who moved above Paris Saint Germain to take sole charge of third position and the final UEFA Champions League qualifying berth.

Lyon coach Claude Puel admitted his troops were desperate for a win after their shock 2-0 loss to Toulouse a week ago. "It's superb, it wasn't easy to prepare, we had a lot of injuries, and we had a lot of pressure," said Puel. "But the players knew how to step up. It would have been very, very hard on the morale if we hadn't won this evening."

Lyon however suffered a blow as Argentinian Lisandro, who scored his 16th goal of the season, was ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering a thigh injury late in the game.