Bordeaux rallies to beat Valenciennes

Paris:

Bordeaux rallied to beat Valenciennes 2-1 on Saturday with goals from Jussie and David Bellion and moved into third place in the French league.

Second-place Nancy wasted a chance to go first, drawing at bottom-side Metz 0-0.

Valenciennes opened the scoring with an own goal from Souleymane Diawara who deflected in a shot from Algeria international Yacine Bezzaz in the 34th minute.

Bordeaux leveled in the 37th after Brazilian forward Jussie converted a penalty kick.

David Bellion got his eighth goal this season to give the victory to Bordeaux, connecting with a corner kick in the 45th.

"The team showed its moral strength. It immediately reacted after conceding an unlucky goal," Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc said.

Bordeaux has 22 points from 12 games while Valenciennes dropped to ninth place with 18 points.

Lyon leads the league with 25 points from 11 games and visits Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.

Nancy, which has 24 points, had the best chances against Metz but lacked the finishing touch to convert them.

Metz goalkeeper Christophe Marichez stopped a low header from Andre Luiz in the 16th minute off a free kick from Benjamin Gavanon.

Gavanon chested the ball down in the 28th before shooting straight into Marichez's arms.

Nancy nearly scored in the 83rd after a poor clearance but Puygrenier's diagonal shot went wide.

In Saturday's other games, it was: Sochaux 2, Marseille 1; Lorient 0, Nice 0; Saint-Etienne 0, Auxerre 0; Lille 0, Strasbourg 3; and Monaco 0, Caen 0.

Sochaux edged Marseille to grab its first win at home this season and move away from the relegation zone.

Sochaux goalkeeper Teddy Richert stopped a penalty kick from Djibril Cisse in the 79th after Niang collided with Richert.

Senegal forward Mamadou Niang outpaced the Sochaux defense in the 9th to collect a long chipped pass from Ronald Zubar and shoot past Richert.

But Sochaux equalized with an own goal from Zubar in the 31st as the Marseille defender headed in a cross from Guiranne Ndaw.

Another own goal from Laurent Bonnart gave Sochaux a 2-1 lead. The Marseille fullback sent a cross from Turkish forward Mevlut Erding into his own net in the 51st.

Relegation zone

Marseille dropped back into the relegation zone with just 10 points from 12 games.

Mid-table Lorient split the points with Nice. Florent Balmont saved Nice in the 78th, clearing off the goal line a header from Algeria midfielder Rafik Saifi.

Saint-Etienne drew with Auxerre 0-0 despite finding the woodwork twice. Geoffrey Dernis hit the post from a direct free kick in the 50th. Blaise Matuidi struck the post again for Saint-Etienne with a 25-meter (yard) drive in the 86th.

Auxerre snatched its first point on the road after conceding five losses away from Stade Abbe Deschamps, while Strasbourg upset Lille to climb into fifth place.

Gabon forward Eric Mouloungui took the ball off Franck Beria and beat Lille goalkeeper Tony Sylva in the 36th. Brazilian midfielder Rodrigo doubled the lead for Strasbourg, with a fierce 30-meter (yard) strike in the 41st.

Midfielder Pascal Johansen sealed the win for Strasbourg in the 68th, with a curling shot from the edge of the box.

Monaco snapped a five-game losing streak but couldn't beat ten-man Caen, who lost midfielder Benjamin Nivet in the 53rd for a second yellow card.

On Sunday, Lens hosts Rennes while Toulouse plays Le Mans.