Paris Saint-Germain beat Nantes 2-0 on Wednesday to restore their five-point lead over Marseille at the top of the French league standings.
Kylian Mbappe broke the deadlock shortly after half-time and Neymar sealed the win with a penalty late on.
The home side struggled to break through the Nantes defence but eventually did so seven minutes after the break when Mbappe slotted home an assist from Angel Di Maria from close range.
Nantes went close to the equaliser but gifted PSG their second five minutes from time when goalkeeper Alban Lafont fouled Mauro Icardi and Neymar converted the resulting penalty.
Saint-Etienne stayed within touching distance of a Champions League berth with a 4-1 win over Nice.
The match was all but over before half-time. Denis Bouanga converted a penalty and, although Kasper Dolberg levelled, goals from Romain Hamouma and Wesley Fofana gave the home side a comprehensive lead.
Bouanga headed in his second in the 58th minute.
Saint-Etienne moved up to fifth, a point behind third-place Bordeaux and the final Champions League qualifying berth.
Montpellier slipped to sixth after being held to a 2-2 draw at struggling Dijon.
Dijon moved one point above Metz, who dropped into the relegation zone after a 1-0 loss to Rennes.
Elsewhere, Monaco won 2-1 at bottom club Toulouse while Amiens' match against Reims was postponed because of bad weather.
Australian Associated Press
