NICE and Auxerre retained the top two spots in the French first division after their away matches ended in draws Saturday, while titleholder Lyon lost 1-0 at Nantes and Marseille beat Bordeaux 2-1.

　　Nice led on 14 points following a scoreless draw at Guingamp. Auxerre tied Sochaux 1-1 in their seventh-round match and trailed Nice on goal difference.

　　Marseille beat Bordeaux 2-1 in an ill-tempered match at the Stade Velodrome. Bordeaux had a man sent off and seven others — five of them Marseille players — were booked.

　　Lyon slipped to sixth place in the standings after suffering its second defeat of the season. Marama Vahirua scored the winner for Nantes in the 20th minute.

　　Paris Saint-Germain rallied from Wednesday’s loss to Lille, when it had three players sent off, to thrash lowly Strasbourg 3-0. Argentine forward Martin Cardetti scored twice and Fabrice Fiorese netted the third.

　　The victory lifted PSG to fourth place, just behind Guingamp which also has 12 points but leads on goal difference.

　　Lens, last season’s runner-up, was fifth after handing bottom-ranked Rennes a 1-0 defeat, its fifth this season.

　　Montpellier beat Lille 1-0. Lille finished 5th last season but is now one place from bottom.

　　Other matches: Sedan 2, Monaco 2; Troyes 1, Le Havre 1.(SD-Agencies)