Paris Saint-Germain draw blank against resilient Lille
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Paris Saint-Germain's Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani (L) falls after being tackled by is tackled by Lille's Argentinian defender Renato Civelli (2nd R) during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Lille (LOSC) at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on February 13, 2016. AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP / MIGUEL MEDINA (Photo credit should read MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)
Edinson Cavani missed a sitter as Paris Saint-Germain was forced to settle for a 0-0 Ligue 1 draw at home against Lille on Saturday.
The Uruguay international led the line for PSG as Laurent Blanc rested a number of key players ahead of Tuesday's Champions League tie against Chelsea - with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva left out of the squad altogether - but failed to grab his chance in an underwhelming performance.
Cavani inexplicably shot over from just yards out after some poor goalkeeping from Vincent Enyeama early in the second half and missed another major opportunity in the closing stages as the match remained scoreless.
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The champions had previously come close via Jean-Kevin Augustin and Layvin Kurzawa, but the former was denied by the Lille goalkeeper, while the latter's header was cleared off the line by Rio Mavuba.
Lille was unable to threaten PSG's unbeaten league record and failed to register a shot on target, but its solid defending earned the club a 13th draw of the season, which is more than any other side. Blanc's men, meanwhile, fail to win for only the fourth time in 26 league matches this season but will quickly turn their attention to the crucial clash with Chelsea.
PSG will be worried about Javier Pastore's status for the game after losing the playmaker to an adductor injury at halftime. The hosts should have opened the scoring early on when Angel Di Maria sent Augustin clean through on goal with a sublime through ball, but Enyeama did well to deny the 18-year-old with a fine save.
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Yassine Benzia threatened for Lille at the other end, but excellent defending from Marquinhos prevented the striker from testing home goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. Di Maria had a good opportunity to break the deadlock after an intelligent ball from Pastore, but Enyeama rushed off his line to complicate matters for the Argentina international and eventually managed to clear.
Pastore tried his luck from outside the area a few moments later, yet failed to get his shot on target as a poor effort flew high and wide. PSG continued to push and Kurzawa came closest to finding a first-half opener after Di Maria's corner from the right, only to see his header crucially cleared off the line by Mavuba.
Cavani's huge chance to give the hosts the lead arrived 11 minutes after the interval when Enyeama failed to hold Blaise Matuidi's cross from the left, but the forward blasted his shot over the bar with the Lille goalkeeper already beaten. Lucas looked dangerous shortly after he replaced Di Maria, but his shot from the edge of the area took a deflection off Adama Soumaoro and thus became easier for Enyeama to deal with.
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Guingamp 2, Bordeaux 4
Bordeaux moved to within a win of the Ligue 1 top three after they beat Guingamp 4-2.
The away side were 2-0 up after 37 minutes, Adam Ounas slotting home from 18 yards before Diego Rolan smashed in following a penalty area scramble. But the home side were level 13 minutes into the second half, Thibault Giresse netting on 42 minutes with a well struck free-kick, before Marcus Coco smashed home after a well worked move.
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However, it was Bordeaux who secured the three points through Clement Chamtome's 68th minute tap-in and Cheick Diabate's unstoppable header two minutes from time.
The hosts pushed hard for a late winner, but missed the individual brilliance of Ibrahimovic as it remained scoreless, with Cavani failing to convert a one-on-one chance in the dying minutes to underline his unimpressive display.
Gazelec Ajaccio 2, Troyes 3
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Karim Azamoum inspired Troyes to just their second win of the season as they came from behind to beat Gazelec Ajaccio 3-2.
Jacques Zoua gave the home side the lead after just 45 seconds, nodding in from Damjan Djokovic's corner.
Azamoum then turned the game around, first setting up Chaoki Ben Saadi to equalise after nine minutes before scoring twice himself, firing home from 20 yards in the 36th minute before slotting in from Benjamin Nivet's pass eight minutes later.
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Ajaccio pulled one back after 57 minutes, Roderic Filippi heading in from a corner, but they could not find a leveller.
Nantes 2, Lorient 1
Nantes moved level on points with third placed Nice after a 2-1 win over Lorient.
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Nantes were in front after 10 minutes as good play from Adrian Thomasson on the right set up Adryan, who made no mistake from inside the penalty area.
It was 2-0 six minutes before half-time. Thomasson again with the assist, crossing for Emiliano Sala, who planted a header into the top right corner of the goal.
Lorient pulled one back on 79 minutes through a Benjamin Moukandjo penalty but Lamine Gassima's straight red card six minutes from time meant they could not push for an equalizer.
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Reims 0, Bastia 1
Reims remain deep in Ligue 1 relegation trouble after they were beaten at home 1-0 by Bastia.
The only goal of the game came just after half-time. Hamari Traore could only help the ball into his own net after home goalkeeper Johny Placide spilled Floyd Ayite's shot.
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Bastia could have been in front as early as the 11th minute but Brandao's header was deflected onto the post by Reims defender Aissa Mandi.
In a game of few chances Reims' best came with 20 minutes remaining but their penalty claims, after Yannick Cahuzac appeared to foul Thievy Bifouma in the area, were waved away.
Information from the Press Association was used for this report.