PSG clear as Montpellier chase

Paris Saint-Germain, bidding for their first Ligue 1 title since 1994, bolstered those ambitions with a 4-2 win over mid-table Caen at the Parc des Princes, while Montpellier are in second and Lyon in provisional third spot after winning their Rhone derby against Saint-Etienne. It was the bare minimum in truth for the Parisians as Caen found themselves reduced to ten men after only 20 minutes with Benjamin Nivet dismissed. A pair of Nene penalties thereafter helped PSG on their way as they went about making up for a midweek league cup exit to Dijon. Caen caught them cold after a 13th-minute header from Thomas Heurtaux, but Turpin's double intervention allowed the hosts to get back on track and make it six straight wins. Nivet clumsily fouled Nene in the box after the PSG raider looked certain to score and the Caen man was immediately sent for an early bath, Nene banging in the resulting spot-kick. Ten minutes after the restart Javier Pastore found Kevin Gameiro, who found Jeremy Menez to whip a goal past goalkeeper Alexis Thebaux. With 15 minutes remaining, the contest was all but settled as Nene again netted from the spot after Nicolas Seube barged over Gameiro. Jerry Vandam made PSG sweat it out as he converted to make it 3-2 with nine minutes left, but Pastore restored the two-goal advantage in the final minute with a classy low strike. Caen coach Franck Dumas was disappointed with the outcome. "I am disappointed and put out - we gave them the second goal - if we could have held them to 1-1 for longer we might have made it hard for them. As for the red card coming so early that made things all the more difficult." Lyon, meanwhile, showed they intend to be at the top after toughing out a 2-0 win over Saint-Etienne at the Stade Gerland courtesy of goals inside the final nine minutes from Jimmy Briand and Yoann Gourcuff. Lyon, who edged their near neighbours out of the league cup in midweek, played most of the second period with ten men after the dismissal of Mouhamadou Dabo for a foul on Banel Nicolita. Dabo had been on the field barely seven minutes after replacing the injured Aly Cissokho. Montpellier edge Nancy Montpellier stayed in touch three points adrift of PSG after goals from Giroud and Souelmane Camera helped them to a 2-0 win over struggling Nancy. Elsewhere, Marseille are slowly coming to life, recording back-to-back wins for the first time this term with a 3-2 defeat of promoted-side Dijon. Loic Remy scored after just one minute, while Benoit Cheyrou and Alou Diarra netted Marseille's others. The win moved Marseille into the top half of the table, although, they are still 14 points off PSG and a point behind Saint-Etienne, who face Lyon in the later kick-off. Bordeaux, meanwhile, have struggled even more than Marseille to date but are also clawing their way up the table after a 2-0 win at bottom-side Ajaccio, scoring two goals inside three first-half minutes from Yoan Gouffran.