French Ligue One Roundup, Nov. 20

By foxsports
Published

Montpellier edged Nice 1-0 to climb atop the French league on Saturday.

Olivier Giroud outjumped the Nice defense in the 83rd minute for the winning goal.

Montpellier tops the standings with 24 points, one more than Paris Saint-Germain and Rennes.

Lille can join Montpellier atop the standings if it beats Monaco on Sunday.

PSG beat Caen 2-1 earlier.

France international Guillaume Hoarau opened the scoring in the 40th with a header off a cross from Siaka Tiene.

Turkish forward Mevlut Erding then collected a long pass in the 50th to dribble past goalkeeper Alexis Thebaux and slot the ball into an empty net.

Youssef El-Arabi pulled one back for Caen in the 85th to become the season's top striker in the league with 10 goals.

Brest led the league coming into the weekend but lost 2-1 to Rennes, which was level on points with PSG but trails on goal difference.

Elsewhere, it was: Toulouse 0, Marseille 1; Saint-Etienne 1, Auxerre 1; Sochaux 2, Lorient 0; Nancy 2, Valenciennes 0.

In Rennes, Jires Kembo-Ekoko put the hosts ahead of Brest with a curling shot in the 39th. Jerome Leroy added a second goal with a powerful strike in the 82nd.

Brest midfielder Bruno Grougi converted a penalty kick in stoppage time for consolation.

Midfielder Andre Ayew notched the winning goal for Marseille in the 88th with a header.

The defending champion recovered from a missed penalty in the 55th when Nigeria defender Taye Taiwo hit the post after Franck Tabanou fouled France winger Loic Remy.

In Saint-Etienne, Loic Perrin leveled from close range for the hosts in the 54th after Auxerre defender Jean-Pascal Mignot headed in a free kick by Benoit Pedretti in the 28th.

In Sochaux, Mali forward Modibo Maiga notched his fifth goal this season by heading home a cross by Nicolas Maurice-Belay in the 43rd.

Forward Ideye Brown pounced on a loose ball to double the lead in the 59th.

In Nancy, defender Andre Luiz nodded in a corner by Benjamin Gavanon in the 29th and Marama Vahirua sealed the win in the 73rd by sending a free kick from the edge of the box under the crossbar.

On Sunday, Lyon visits Lens and Arles-Avignon faces Bordeaux.