Paris: Saint-Etienne ended a run of five straight draws with a convincing 3-0 win against third-place Lyon in the French league on Sunday to move within one point of its bitter local rival.
Ivory Coast winger Max-Alain Gradel set up goals for defender Moustapha Sall in the 18th minute and Dutch striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel in the 40th, before midfielder Renaud Cohade added a third midway through the second half.
The win puts fifth-place Saint-Etienne one point behind Bordeaux and Lyon, which leads Bordeaux on goal difference.
The match opposed two of France's most successful teams on the domestic front with 17 league titles between them: 10 for Saint-Etienne, while Lyon won seven straight titles before Bordeaux ended its reign in the 2008-09 season.
But it was all Saint-Etienne at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Gradel almost set up a third goal at the start of the second half as defender Loic Perrin headed his free kick against the crossbar, and Gradel went close to scoring with an hour played when his shot from 25 meters was saved by Anthony Lopes.
Cohade scored in the 68th when he profited from a huge blunder by Lyon midfielder Corentin Tolisso and beat Lopes with a low drive.
Lyon missed the chance to pull a goal back after top scorer Alexandre Lacazete missed a penalty in the 78th.
Earlier, Bordeaux beat Lille 1-0 thanks to Mali striker Cheick Diabate's sixth goal of the season.
Winger Nicolas Maurice-Belay broke down the right in the 62nd minute and, with defender David Rozehnal slow to cover him, picked out Diabate near the penalty spot.
In the first half, midfielder Thomas Toure hit the post for Bordeaux, while Lille forward Nolan Roux's effort was well saved by goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso.
"I was pleased with our performance, particularly in defense," Bordeaux coach Willy Sagnol said. "Aside from the clean sheet itself, we eradicated some mistakes that have been creeping into our game recently."
Evian earned a welcome win in its relegation fight by beating fellow struggler Guingamp 2-0, thanks to a free kick from Denmark midfielder Daniel Wass and a tap-in from countryman Nicki Bille Nielsen.
After being fouled nearly 30 meters from goal, Wass found the top right corner with a clean, swerving strike with the inside of his foot.
Despite playing for a lowly club, Wass has scored six league goals in 13 games so far this season, and got nine last term.
"Wass is exceptional and I've known that for a long time," Evian coach Pascal Dupraz said.
Terrible defending from Guingamp led to the second goal in the 81st,
Winger Adrien Thomasson crossed from the left, and the defense left it for goalkeeper Jonas Lossl to deal with, but he had not come off his line, and Nielsen had time to pick his spot.
The win moves Evian out of the relegation zone and into 16th place, while French Cup winner Guingamp is last.
League leader Marseille is one point ahead of two-time defending champion Paris Saint-Germain, which labored to a 1-0 win against Nice on Saturday.
