Marouane Chamakh scored the only goal of the game for Laurent Blanc's side against Monaco at the Stade Chaban-Delmas, where the visitors' frustration spilled over after the final whistle with substitute Lukman Haruna dismissed for dissent.

However, a Damian Macaluso own goal and a Brandao strike put OM in the ascendancy at the Stade Marcel Picot. Landry N'Guemo struck a late consolation but Marseille held on to keep the title race alive.

Les Girondins, who clinched their first trophy under Blanc last month with a 4-0 romp in the Coupe de la Ligue final against Vannes OC, remain three points clear of OM with one round of matches remaining.

It will all come down to next Saturday's final games, when Bordeaux visit Caen and Marseille host Rennes.

Tonight's results mean seven-time reigning champions Lyon hold onto their crown for seven more days.

Les Gones secured third spot and a place in next season's Champions League qualifying phase by defeating Caen 3-1 tonight.

Juninho's 34th-minute penalty and a 70th-minute strike from Sidney Govou put Lyon two up and Karim Benzema sealed matters after Steve Savidan had pulled one back. Caen slip to 17th after their defeat.

Lyon's victory sees them move seven points clear of Paris St Germain, who surrendered fourth spot to Toulouse following a 2-1 reverse win at Valenciennes tonight.

Mateja Kezman looked to have set PSG on their way to victory but VA hit back through Johan Audel and Gregory Pujol.

Toulouse moved up to fourth - above the capital club on goal difference - after an Andre-Pierre Gignac brace secured a 2-0 triumph at Nice.

Rennes and Lille remain in contention for a Europa League berth, in sixth and seventh respectively.

Moussa Sow's double put Rennes two up against Lorient with Jires Ekoko sealing matters after Marama Vahirua had given the visitors hope.

Substitute Michel Bastos struck the only goal as Lille won 1-0 at already-relegated Le Havre.

At the bottom, Nantes' relegation was confirmed as Les Canaris went down 2-1 at fellow strugglers Sochaux.

Mamadou Bagayoko pulled one back for Les Canaris from the penalty spot on the hour, but it was not enough after Mevlut Erdinc and Rabiu Afolabi had netted the vital goals for the Montbeliard outfit. Sochaux climb out of the drop zone and up to 15th on the back of their win.

St Etienne slipped into the drop zone after Ireneusz Jelen's second-half goal condemned them to a 1-0 defeat at Auxerre.

Le Mans remain hovering precariously above the bottom three after a 1-1 draw with Grenoble, Anthony Le Tallec cancelling out substitute Nassim Akrour's strike.