Rennes' dismal form continued on Sunday as they sank to a 1-0 defeat at bottom side Ajaccio that left them six points outside the Champions League positions in seventh place.
Fousseni Diawara scored the winner with seven minutes to go, pouncing from close range after Johan Cavalli's shot was deflected and thereby condemning Rennes to a fifth successive game without a win in all competitions.
Meanwhile, Bordeaux extended their unbeaten run to four games with a 1-0 success at home to Sochaux that left them in ninth position and stretched their run without conceding a goal to 377 minutes.
In Sunday's late game, second-placed Paris Saint-Germain will bid to return to the top of the table when they host defending champions Lille at Parc des Princes in the last major head-to-head before the winter break.
PSG are hoping to move on from their mid-week Europa League elimination and put five points between themselves and Rudi Garcia's side, but Lille boast the league's meanest defence and have not lost in 15 Ligue 1 matches.
On Saturday, Montpellier could only inch a point clear of PSG at the top of the table after a fine goal from Senegalese left-back Cheikh M'Bengue earned Toulouse a 1-1 draw at Stade de la Mosson.
Lyon moved into third place with a 2-1 defeat of Evian, while Marseille remained eighth after Mathieu Valbuena scored a stunning equaliser and then created an injury-time winner to earn OM a 2-1 win over nine-man Lorient.
Source: AFP
