Lille prevent Lyon from jumping into third

With Saint-Etienne following in Nice's footsteps and drawing this weekend, Lyon went into the game knowing that a victory would elevate them into third in the table.

But Boufal nodded home the only goal of the game, while two red cards for the visitors means they may yet suffer a knock-on effect from this result over the coming weeks.

Christophe Jallet and Clement Grenier both picked up two yellow cards for coach Bruno Genesio's side, with Grenier guilty of a particularly vicious elbow on Florent Balmont as he was given his marching orders.

The result means Lille move up to 12th in the table, putting some breathing space between themselves and the relegation zone.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Saint-Etienne were held to a 1-1 draw by Marseille.

Les Verts took the lead late on thanks to Kevin Monnet-Paquet’s 85th minute strike, but in-form Marseille forward Michy Batshuayi grabbed a last-gasp equalizer to ensure both teams were forced to settle for a share of the points.

The day’s other game saw Caen get back to winning ways as they defeated Rennes 1-0 thanks to Saidi Ntibazonkiza’s strike.