PARIS: Second-placed Lens made it 10 straight home wins in the French league after beating struggling Auxerre 1-0 on Saturday.
Poland winger Przemyslaw Frankowski nailed a penalty kick in the 59th minute with a powerful strike past goalkeeper Benoit Costil, who guessed the right way.
Auxerre finished with 10 players after defender Isaak Toure was sent off midway through the second half, for a second yellow card after fouling forward Florian Sotoca.
Northern side Lens, who have won all of their home games so far, moved to three points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain.
Lens extended their unbeaten league run to 9 games but still lead third-placed Marseille only by two points after the southern side beat Lorient 3-1 at home for a sixth straight league win.
Second place secures an automatic place in next season’s Champions League, while the team finishing third enters the competition via the playoff rounds.
Lorient danger man Terem Moffi struck again to give the visitors the lead in the 29th with a superb volley from a corner. It was the Nigeria striker’s 12th league goal, moving him one ahead of PSG’s Neymar and one behind top scorer Kylian Mbappe of PSG.
Marseille are resilient this season under coach Igor Tudor and bounced back 10 minutes later, when defender Sead Kolasinac headed in Turkiye winger Cengiz Ünder’s cross.
Veteran Chile striker Alexis Sanchez put Marseille ahead in the 53rd when he finished powerfully from Kolasinac’s deflected cross, and France midfielder Jordan Veretout’s shot following a long ball made it 3-1 six minutes later.
Also, Strasbourg moved out of the relegation zone after winning at Lyon 2-1.
Midfielder Jean-Eudes Aholou volleyed in from a corner in the 28th and striker Habib Diallo doubled Strasbourg’s lead four minutes later.
Former Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette pulled a goal back in first-half injury time with a penalty for his 11th goal of the campaign, and had a close-range shot brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Matz Sels near the end.
It was Lyon’s second straight home defeat. Some angry Lyon fans tried to force their way onto the field and were pushed back by riot police.
On Sunday, PSG are at fourth-placed Rennes.
