The French Ligue 1 had it’s third round of matches this weekend.
Nice came from behind to rescue a 1-1 draw against Marseille at Nice Municipal Du Ray, to deny the visitors a third successive victory on Saturday evening.
It looked as if Marseille would claim maximum points when midfielder Benoit Pedretti volleyed home after 47 minutes.
But the bottom-of-the-league home side came back and levelled on 62 minutes when Serge Die converted from the penalty spot. His attempt was the first goal the team from the Stade Velodrome have conceded in the league.
But Die’s joy soon turned into despair when he was given his marching orders. The Nice striker was already booked in the first half and removed his shirt in celebration of his equaliser. He collected a second booking for his antics and ordered off the pitch by referee Stephane Bre.
But despite the numerical disadvantage, Nice held on for a draw.
The match was an ill-tempered affair with eight bookings, four from each side.
Caen stunned heavyweights Monaco with a 1-0 win at home at Caen Michael-D’ Ornano stadium.
Cyrille Watier scored the only goal for Caen on 22 minutes to secure Patrick Remy’s team their first win of the season. It was Champions League hopefuls’ Monaco’s first defeat of the new campaign.
Paris Saint-Germain continued their winless start to the new season with a 2-1 defeat away to Toulouse FC at Toulouse Municipal.
The home side went into the lead after 55 minutes thanks to Daniel Moreira and doubled their lead after Eduardo Silva scored on 71 minutes.
PSG managed to pull a goal back from Reinaldo but Toulouse held on for a vital win.
Surprise team SC Bastia continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 1-0 win at the expense of pointless AC Ajaccio at Bastia Armand Cesari de Furiani.
Fabrice Jau put Francois Ciccolini’s men in front after 70 minutes and that was enough to secure maximum points.
But Anthier Yahia was sent off for a second bookable offence for Bastia four minutes from time.
A dramatic climax at the Stade Guichard denied St Etienne a first win of the season when they played RC Strasbourg.
The newly promoted home side took the lead on 37 minutes when Anthony Le Tallec, on-loan from Liverpool, scored. But Alexander Farnerud pounced at the death to grab a share of the spoils.
Another late goal by Jean-Pascal Mignot helped Auxerre to a 2-1 away victory against Souchaux at Auguste-Bonal stadium.
Bonaventure Kalou had given the visitors the lead on 14 minutes but Francileudo Dos Santos snatched an equaliser three minutes before the break.
The match seemed to be heading for a draw but Mignot pinched all three points for Auxerre six minutes from time.
Elsewhere, RC Lens won 2-0 away to FC Istres thanks to goals from Hilton and Utaka on 31 minutes and 88 minutes respectively.
At Lille Grimonprez-Jooris, Lille drew 0-0 against Bordeaux whilst Swiss striker, Alexander Frei, scored the only goal for Rennes in their 1-0 home win against Nantes at Rennes Route de L’ Orient.
On Sunday, Metz missed the chance to go two points clear at the top of Ligue 1 when Olympique Lyonnais held them to a 1-1 draw at home at the Saint-Symphorien.
Jean Fernandez’s side were ahead after the half-hour mark thanks to a Franck Ribery goal. But reigning champions Lyon battled back in the second half and got their reward on 66 minutes when Florent Balmont equalised.
But Lyon’s star striker, Giovane Elber, was carried off the pitch with a suspected broken ankle. This is a blow for Fernandez, as the player seems certain to miss the UEFA Champions League curtain opener.
Five clubs share the top of Ligue 1 after three rounds. Lens, Toulouse, Marseille, Bastia and Metz are all level on seven points.
