Saint-Etienne and Valenciennes close gap on PSG
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was again on target as Saint-Etienne beat Troyes 2-0, while Valenciennes recovered to beat Bastia 3-2 as both sides drew to within one point of Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain. Renaud Cohade struck for Saint-Etienne a minute after half-time, while Aubameyang added a late second -- his eighth goal of the season -- as Les Verts disposed of lowly Troyes at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, extending their unbeaten run in the league to seven matches. Foued Kadir gave Valenciennes the lead against Bastia in Corsica, but their newly-promoted opponents equalised before the break as Anthony Modeste converted from the spot after Gil was controversially adjudged to have fouled Wahbi Khazri. Julian Palmieri then drilled home Bastia's second from Toifilou Maoulida's low cross, but Kadir levelled proceedings with an exquisite curling strike into the top corner before Mathieu Dossevi grabbed a winner for Valenciennes 10 minutes from the end. Meanwhile, Toulouse missed an opportunity to move level on points with PSG at the top as they were consigned to a second straight defeat at home to Ajaccio. Anthony Lippini gifted the home side the opening goal after four minutes, misjudging a header he attempted to guide back to goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, but goals from Frederic Sammaritano, Chakhir Belghazouani and Sigamary Diarra staked Ajaccio into a 3-1 lead. Aymen Abdennour reduced the deficit for Toulouse on 72 minutes but with goalkeeper Ali Ahamada well off his line Belghazouani notched his second of the game in injury-time to complete a 4-2 victory for Ajaccio. Elsewhere, Evian climbed out the relegation zone following their 2-1 win at Reims. Kevin Berigaud and Youssef Adnane gave the away side a two-goal advantage with Cedric Cambon's 73rd-minute own-goal proving nothing more than a consolation for Reims. Earlier in the day, Lille turned the page after their 6-1 humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Brest. Salomon Kalou volleyed home Dimitri Payet's hooked cross in first-half stoppage-time to give Rudi Garcia's side a third successive league victory and extend Les Dogues' unbeaten run in the French top flight to five matches. Lille moved to within two points of table-toppers PSG, with Carlo Ancelotti's side in action against defending champions Montpellier and title-rivals Marseille at home to Nice on Sunday.
