France
PARIS - Tulio De Melo scored his 11th goal of the season as Le Mans upset six-time defending champion Lyon 1-0 in the French league Saturday.
The Brazilian forward flicked in a cross from Ibrahim Camara that was diverted by Hassan Yebda at the near post in the 71st minute.
"We’re a bit disappointed. The defeat comes from a ball lost in midfield," Lyon winger Sidney Govou said.
Lyon still tops the standings with 49 points, but second-place Bordeaux can cut the lead to one point if it beats Monaco on Sunday.
Le Mans moved into fifth place.
"We played well as a team, we showed some solidarity," Le Mans defender Jean Calve said.
Le Mans dominated the second half, creating all the chances.
Gervinho dribbled past Francois Clerc in the 68th, but Lyon goalkeeper Gregory Coupet stopped the forward’s angled shot.
Coupet blocked a low free kick from Ivory Coast midfielder Ndri Romaric in the 81st.
Also on Saturday, it was: Auxerre 1, Toulouse 0; Lens 0, Nice 0; Lille 3, Rennes 1; Lorient 1, Strasbourg 0; Metz 2, Valenciennes 1; Saint-Etienne 4, Nancy 0; and Sochaux 1, Caen 1.
On Sunday, Marseille plays Paris Saint-Germain.
In Saint-Etienne, Loic Perrin outpaced the Nancy defence to fire in a diagonal shot in the 16th.
Bafetimbi Gomis doubled the lead in the 42nd, beating the offside trap to collect a pass from Pascal Feindouno and slip the ball past goalkeeper Gennaro Bracigliano.
Feindouno added a third goal in the 70th from a penalty kick before Gomis rounded Bracigliano in the 71st to send the ball into the empty net.
Saint-Etienne moved away from the relegation zone while Nancy remained stuck in third place.
In Metz, an own-goal from defender Williams Martinez in the 66th gave Metz victory.
Algerian midfielder Djamel Belmadi volleyed home for Valenciennes in the 41st off a cross from Sebastien Roudet.
Senegal forward Babacar Gueye equalized in the 50th with a low shot.
In Sochaux, Yoan Gouffran found the net in the 56th to help mid-table Caen rally after forward Nicolas Maurice-Belay converted a rebound to open the scoring for Sochaux in the 40th.
Sochaux midfielder Stephane Dalmat missed a penalty kick in the 49th after Sebastien Grax was fouled inside the area.
In Lorient, Ulrich Le Pen beat Strasbourg goalkeeper Stephane Cassard with a curling shot into the top corner in the 45th as his team climbed into sixth place.
In Lille, Dutch forward Patrick Kluivert converted a penalty kick in the 43rd after Ghana defender John Mensah handled the ball inside the area.
Kluivert made it 2-0 in the 53rd, surging at the near post to deflect in a cross from Ludovic Obraniak.
Brazilian defender Fernandes Michel Bastos sealed the win in the 56th with a powerful free kick from 25 metres.
Mickael Pagis pulled one goal back for Rennes in the 89th.
In Auxerre, Romania forward Daniel Niculae scored his ninth goal this season, beating Toulouse goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez from close range off a backheeled pass from Kamel Chafni in the 52nd.
Source: FRA: Le Mans stuns Lyon 1-0
