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This weekend, all matches of the 9th round of the French "Ligue 1" championship were played. On Saturday, there were even eight matches, and on Sunday, two. Wins were celebrated almost exclusively by the hosts - defending champions "Lyon", who, taking advantage of the stumbles of "Marseille" and other competitors, distanced themselves from the pursuers, "Nice", "P.S.G", "Rennes", "Bordeaux", "Toulouse", as well as "Sochaux" who played away, and draws were recorded in three matches.
In the city of Lyon, two worthy opponents met: the league-leading "Lyon" and "Saint-Etienne" occupying the fourth position in the championship. The first half started very fiercely, but neither team showed which one is stronger.
In the second half, the Portuguese defender Tiago lifted the Lyon fans on their feet by scoring the first goal for the team in the 65th minute. But the Lyon fans could not celebrate for long, as just two minutes later the score became equal, with Yohanas Hautcoeur scoring.
The players' nerves showed at the end of the second half, when Lamine Diatta was sent off the field and in the 83rd minute, Lyon's star Brazilian Juninho Pernambucano missed a penalty kick. However, the St Etienne team was not destined to take two points from the champions' team, as Juninho, who could have been the culprit of the match just two minutes before, became the hero when he scored a decisive goal from a sharp angle, bringing his team three hard-fought points.
Gerard Houllier's coached players have not experienced a single defeat in nine matches and are the sole leaders of the "Ligue 1" championship.
The chance to rise to the third place was lost by the "Lille" club, who unexpectedly could not defeat "Troyes" away and lost two points. The hosts were the first to score in the match when Benjamin Nivet scored in the 39th minute. In the second half, just a few minutes after playing, "Lille" footballers managed to equalize. The goal was scored by Abdula Kader Keita.
The championship discovery, the "Toulouse" club, won a resounding victory against the newcomer "Valenciennes" in front of all the fans. Laurent Battles scored in the 8th minute, four minutes later "violet" defender Fode Mansare outplayed "Valenciennes" goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau, and in the 29th minute, Albert Bonbo helped score a point in this match.
After a few failures, the "Bordeaux" club also won with a minimal score of 1-0 at home against the very poorly-performing "Monaco" team. The winning goal for the hosts was scored by Colombian forward Edixon Perea in the 72nd minute.
The former club of the Lithuanian Edgaras Jankauskas, "Nice", yesterday won a convincing victory in front of all the fans in the match against "Lorient". Former "Man Utd" striker David Bellion scored two goals, and the only goal for "Lorient" was scored by Ederson in the 75th minute.
The "Rennes" club, currently in 18th place in "Ligue 1", at home easily dealt with the league mid-table team "Auxerre". In the 38th minute, the visitors were the first to pull the ball out of their own net, as Fabian Cool shot past John Utaka. At the end of the first half, the hosts added a second goal when Sylvain Marveaux scored.
The opponents' hope of at least equalizing the match was dashed in the 80th minute with a precise strike from John Utaka. Nevertheless, "Auxerre" managed to score a consolation goal in the 90th minute. Lionel Mathis scored.
Another club currently in the next-to-last place in the championship, "Nantes", lost at home to "Sochaux". Rabiu Afolabi scored in the 27th minute to break the deadlock, and at the beginning of the second half, in the 47th min...
