Bordeaux keeps French title hopes alive

PARIS (AP) -- Bordeaux beat Le Mans 3-1 to climb into provisional second place in the French league on Saturday.

Argentine forward Fernando Cavenaghi opened the scoring for Bordeaux in the 59th minute, flicking home a cross from defender Benoit Tremoulinas for his league-leading 10th goal of the season.

Norway forward Thorstein Helstad chipped the ball over goalkeeper Ulrich Rame to level for Le Mans in the 67th. But Bordeaux recaptured the lead in the 75th with a 30-meter curling shot from fullback Mathieu Chalme before Jussie sealed the win in stoppage time.

Bordeaux has 32 points from 18 matches, trailing league-leading Lyon by two points.

Paris Saint-Germain, a 2-1 winner over Auxerre, also has 32 points, followed by Marseille and Rennes on 31. Marseille visits Lyon on Sunday and can jump atop the standings with a road win.

Elsewhere, it was: Toulouse 3, Saint-Etienne 1; Valenciennes 3, Monaco 1; Sochaux 2, Caen 2; Nancy 2, Grenoble 0; and Rennes 0, Nantes 0.

Benin midfielder Stephane Sessegnon scored twice to help PSG beat Auxerre, racing to the far post to tap in a corner kick in the fifth before outpacing the Auxerre defense to beat goalkeeper Remy Riou in the 22nd.

Cedric Hengbart pulled one goal back for Auxerre, converting a penalty in the 87th after Dennis Oliech was fouled inside the area.

PSG has won five of its last six league matches.

"Paris had the match under control and deserved the victory," PSG defender Sylvain Armand told Europe 1 radio. "We have players pulling for each other. It's something that was missing last season. The mind-set has changed."

PSG spent the last two seasons fighting off relegation.

In Toulouse, Andre-Pierre Gignac charged down the left flank to cut inside and fire home a low shot from the edge of the box in the fifth. Midfielder Paulo Machado hit a free kick inside the post in the 37th to level for Saint-Etienne, but Toulouse claimed back the lead a few seconds before the break with an angled shot from Etienne Didot.

Gignac produced another great dash to make it 3-1 in the 53rd and raise his tally to 10 goals this season, as Toulouse climbed into sixth place with 30 points.

"I'm having fun this year," Gignac told Canal Plus television. "Everybody believes in me. And I have the luck to be on the receiving end of the plays."

In Valenciennes, Juan Pablo Pino shot past goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau in the 23rd to put Monaco ahead. Midfielder Carlos Sanchez equalized for Valenciennes in the 28th with a long-range strike into the top corner.

Midfielder Djamel Belmadi volleyed home a cross from Siaka Tiene in the 40th to give the host a 2-1 lead, before Gregory Pujol secured the win with a strong header in the 59th.

Monaco was down to 10 men in the 87th after Croatia midfielder Jerko Leko was sent off for collecting a second yellow card.

It was Valenciennes' first win in 15 matches, but the team remained in the relegation zone with just 14 points.

In Sochaux, substitute Sloan Privat scored twice to salvage a draw for the host side.

Remi Gomis took advantage of a defensive mistake from Sochaux goalkeeper Teddy Richert on a corner kick to slot home in the 19th, and then added a second goal for mid-table Caen in the 67th after taking a pass from Benjamin Nivet.

But Privat converted a rebound in the 76th after Caen goalkeeper Vincent Plante had stopped a shot from Francileudo Santos and the Sochaux teenager leveled in the 88th with a a bicycle kick.

"I'm in heaven," Privat, who signed his first pro contract this week, told Canal Plus television. "I can't believe it. It's crazy."

In Nancy, midfielder Moncef Zerka pulled the ball back in the 15th for Julien Feret who slid it in and Issiar Dia made it 2-0 in the 63rd, beating the offside trap to slip the ball through goalkeeper Gregory Wimbee's legs.

Rennes stretched its unbeaten run in the league to 16 games with a goalless draw against Nantes but missed an opportunity to take second place, slipping to fifth place with 31 points.

Also on Sunday, Nice plays Lille and Le Havre takes on Lorient.

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