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If just a few weeks ago it was possible to say that the "Lens" club firmly holds the second position in the French "Ligue 1" championship, now, after playing the matches of the 31st round, almost half of the tournament teams realistically aspire to this position. The main culprit for such a situation is the aforementioned "Lens" club, who this Saturday lost their second consecutive match and wasted the advantage they had against their pursuers. In the 31st round match, the "Lens" team, still in second place, traveled away to meet the "Rennes" team and lost with a minimal result of 1-0. The only goal of the match was scored by John Utaka in the 30th minute. Also losing two points in this round on Saturday was the "Lyon" club, almost no longer in the race for the champion's title. The current "Ligue 1" champions also played away against the league newcomers, "Valenciennes" club, and ended the match in a draw. The matches between "Monaco" and "Troyes", as well as "Auxerre" and "Bordeaux", also ended with the same results. The "Sochaux" team also failed to take advantage of "Lens"'s failure and the opportunity to rise to second place, drawing at home with the underdog "Nice" with a 1-1 result. In the 68th minute, after a successful shot by David Bellion, the Nice team took the lead, but already after three minutes "Sochaux" equalized, when they defeated the visiting goalkeeper Moumouni Dagano. A very important second consecutive victory was achieved by the Paris "P.S.G" club, which is fighting to stay in the league, defeating the "Le Mans" team, who still have chances to fight for a place in Europe, after a fierce battle at home with a score of 2-1. The guests took the lead when one of the most productive "Le Mans" players, Grafite, scored in the 29th minute, but in the second half after accurate shots by Pegguy Luyindula and Amara Diane, "P.S.G" turned the score and maintained the advantage until the end of the match. Similarly, with the same result, the struggling "Saint-Etienne" club, who have been unsuccessful recently, also won an important victory on Saturday, defeating the absolute league underdogs "Nantes". It is worth noting that all three goals were scored in the first 8 minutes of the game. After this victory, "Saint-Etienne" temporarily rose to the 5th place in the standings and still has a chance to fight for a place in the next season's UEFA Champions League tournament. Results of the 31st round: 0 - 0 0 - 0 0 - 0 1 - 0 30` [1 - 0] John Utaka 0 - 1 68` [0 - 1] Rafik Saifi (from 11m) 90` Cedric Lecluse ("Nancy") sent off 1 - 1 68` [0 - 1] David Bellion 71` [1 - 1] Moumouni Dagano 2 - 1 29` [0 - 1] Grafite 56` [1 - 1] Pegguy Luyindula 80` [2 - 1] Amara Diane 2 - 1 27` [1 - 0] Vincent Hognon 29` [1 - 1] Mamadou Diallo 34` [2 - 1] Batefimbi Gomis 65` Mahamadou Dabo ("Saint-Etienne") sent off Top scorers: (Place, player, club, goals) 1. Steve Savidan ("Valenciennes") 13 2-3. Aruna Dindane ("Lens") 11 Ismael Bangoura ("Le Mans") 11 4-6. Pedro Pauleta ("P.S.G") 10 Batefimbi Gomis ("Saint-Etienne") 10 Fred ("Lyon") 10 7-10. Ilan ("Saint-Etienne") 9 Seydou Keita ("Lens") 9 David Gigliotti ("Troyes") 9 Kanga Akale ("Auxerre") 9 League table
