Ligue 1 title favourites Paris Saint-Germain returned to the top of the table after overwhelming third-bottom Ajaccio 4-1 at a rain-soaked Parc des Princes on Sunday.
Montpellier had conceded the initiative in the title race after being held to a draw at Dijon on Saturday and PSG took full advantage by beating Ajaccio through goals from Javier Pastore, Jeremy Menez, Guillaume Hoarau and Nene.
Having rescued a thrilling 4-4 draw at Lyon last weekend, Carlo Ancelotti's side have now gone 15 games unbeaten and are a point clear of Montpellier with 12 games of the season remaining.
Ajaccio almost took an early lead in fortuitous fashion when Samuel Bohours' cross was deflected onto the crossbar by Christophe Jallet, but a pair of quick-fire goals mid-way through the first half gave PSG control of the game.
Nene hit the post with a 25-yard curler and Hoarau stung the palms of Ajaccio goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa before Pastore broke the deadlock in the 27th minute, driving the ball past Ochoa following a neat one-two with Blaise Matuidi.
PSG doubled their lead less than two minutes later and this time Pastore was the provider, spreading the ball to his left for Menez, who stepped inside his man and curled a fine shot into the top-right corner.
After spurning a handful of chances to extend their lead, PSG saw Ajaccio pull a goal back shortly before the interval when Yoann Poulard lashed a loose ball home after the hosts failed to clear a free-kick.
With Ancelotti peering through the rain on the touchline, PSG struggled to kill the game off in the second half, with Nene rattling the crossbar from a free-kick and both Nene and Hoarau drawing saves from Ochoa.
Hoarau finally made the game safe in the 86th minute, cantering onto Nene's through-ball and rolling the ball past Ochoa, before Nene touched home Clement Chantome's volleyed cross from close range to claim a deserved goal in stoppage time.
Sunday's other afternoon game saw Caen draw 0-0 at home to Brest, who had Jonathan Zebina sent off for an injury-time altercation with Livio Nabab.
None of the major contenders for Champions League qualification managed to win on Saturday, with third-placed Lille notably letting slip a two-goal lead in the last 10 minutes to draw 2-2 at home to second-bottom Auxerre.
Montpellier drew 1-1 at Dijon after an 88th-minute equaliser from substitute Jonathan Tinhan prevented Rene Girard's side from succumbing to their first defeat of 2012, but it was not enough to preserve their place at the summit.
Saint-Etienne remain fourth despite losing 2-0 at home to Evian, while Toulouse climbed to fifth after condemning Marseille to a second consecutive defeat with a 1-0 win at Stade Velodrome.
Lyon, meanwhile, are seven points below Lille in sixth place after going down 2-0 at Nancy and face a real struggle to qualify for next season's Champions League.
Sunday's late game sees Rennes travel to Lorient in the Brittany derby, when victory for the visitors could take them as high as fourth.
Source: AFP
