Lens back up to third in Ligue 1 as Lyon held at Brest

Lens recovered from a midweek defeat to secure a 3-0 victory against Lorient on Sunday, remaining just two points behind Ligue 1 frontrunners Paris Saint-Germain, whereas Lyon slipped further back following a stalemate on the road against Brest.

Ex Celtic and Crystal Palace forward Odsonne Edouard opened the scoring quickly for Lens, with Wesley Said and Samson Baidoo adding late strikes for the home side following a missed spot kick by Lorient's Mohamed Bamba.

Lens had squandered an opportunity to overtake PSG atop the standings midweek, succumbing to a 2-0 loss against Metz, who had yet to taste victory prior to that.

Felix Correia bagged his third strike in three matches to hand Lille a narrow 1-0 triumph over Angers.

Lille join two other sides trailing PSG by four points, including Lyon, who managed to cling on for a goalless result at Brest even after Hans Hateboer received his marching orders after only seven minutes.

Esteban Lepaul maintained his excellent streak by netting a treble, propelling Rennes to a convincing 4-1 success versus Strasbourg.

Lepaul ranks as the second highest goal getter in the division with eight tallies, trailing Strasbourg's Argentine forward Joaquin Panichelli by a single goal.

Metz notched back to back triumphs to rise from the bottom position, prevailing 2-0 away to Nantes. Toulouse and Le Havre finished level at 0-0.