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On Sunday, two remaining matches of the 32nd round of the French "Ligue 1" championship were played, with home teams Lyon and Nice securing victories.
Lyon, rapidly advancing towards their sixth consecutive title, this time played at home against league underdog Sedan and managed to win with a minimal score of 1-0. From the start of the match, the hosts started attacking the opponents' goal, but Sedan players successfully defended almost the entire first half. However, just over a minute before the break, young talent Hatem Ben Arfa scored a fantastic goal, breaking the deadlock and putting his team in the lead.
After the break, the situation on the field remained unchanged, with the Ligue 1 champions continuing to dominate the visitors' defense, while Sedan only responded with occasional counterattacks. As the match neared its end, Lyon leader Juninho was clearly fouled in the penalty area after a quick attack, but the referee, who allowed rough play throughout the game, hesitated to award a penalty kick. In the final minutes of the match, Portuguese player Tiago could have doubled his team's advantage after coming on as a substitute, but his attempt to chip the ball over Sedan's goalkeeper hit the crossbar.
With this victory and only six rounds left until the end of the championship, Lyon leads their closest pursuers Toulouse by 17 points and has played one less match. This means that in order to secure their sixth consecutive championship title, Lyon needs to win at least one more game.
In the other Sunday match, one of the league's underdogs, Nice, hosted the European contender Saint-Etienne and surprisingly defeated them 2-1. After a goalless first half, Saint-Etienne defender Lamine Diatta scored early in the second half to put his team ahead, but that was all the visitors could do in this match. Nice striker David Bellion then took over - with 20 minutes left in the match, the Frenchman equalized with a precise shot, and ten minutes later successfully converted a penalty kick to seal a crucial victory in their battle to stay in Ligue 1.
Sunday's match results:
1 - 0
44` [1 - 0] Hatem Ben Arfa
2 - 1
47` [0 - 1] Lamine Diatta
70` [1 - 1] David Bellion
81` [2 - 1] David Bellion (from the penalty spot)
League table
