Paris routs Nancy 4-1 in French league

Paris Saint-Germain routed Nancy 4-1 with two goals from Guillaume Hoarau to consolidate its second spot in the French league on Sunday.

Marseille and Bordeaux kept pace with PSG in the race for a Champions League berth as Marseille edged Caen 1-0 while Bordeaux beat Lorient 1-0.

Hoarau opened the scoring for PSG in the 10th minute, heading in a free kick from Jerome Rothen.

Ludovic Giuly doubled the lead in the 13th after some fine work on the right flank from Benin playmaker Stephane Sessegnon.

Nancy pulled a goal back in the 30th when Julien Feret chipped goalkeeper Mickael Landreau from a tight angle.

Hoarau notched his 15th goal this season to tie Andre-Pierre Gignac as the top striker in the league and make it 3-1 in the 40th minute. The PSG forward pounced on a free kick from Rothen and had his shot stopped by goalkeeper Gennaro Bracigliano before tapping home the rebound.

Hoarau set up the fourth goal from the left flank, pulling the ball back toward Sessegnon who shot past Bracigliano in the 63rd.

"At 2-0 after 15 minutes, we relaxed a bit and conceded a goal," PSG fullback Sylvain Armand told the club's Web site. "But this season, we have the capacity to not make the same mistakes as last season when we conceded a goal."

PSG earned its fourth straight victory at home to retain second place with 49 points from 26 matches while Nancy dropped to 14th place with 29 points.

Marseille remained in third place with 48 points after Brandao scored the winning goal at Caen.

The Brazilian forward, signed from Shakhtar Donetsk during the winter transfer window, beat the offside trap and dribbled past goalkeeper Vincent Plante to tuck the ball into the empty net in the 67th.

"There are 10 players in front of me who fight and who don't give in," Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda told the club's Web site. "It paid off today and we're really happy. We won't give away anything until the last round."

Marseille forward Bakari Kone sprained his ankle in the 10th and was replaced by Sylvain Wiltord.

Caen dropped to 17th place with 26 points but avoided falling into the relegation zone due to a better goal difference than Sochaux.

In Bordeaux, Fernando Cavenaghi released Marouane Chamakh inside the box and the Morocco forward scored with a powerful strike from close range in the 49th.

Bordeaux leapfrogged Toulouse into fourth place with 47 points.

Monaco drew 2-2 at home with Saint-Etienne, Yohan Mollo equalizing for the hosts in stoppage time with a curling shot off a pass from South Korea midfielder Park Chu-young.

Frederic Nimani put Monaco ahead in the 20th, collecting a through ball from Park and slipping it past goalkeeper Jeremie Janot.

But Dimitri Payet leveled for Saint-Etienne in the 25th, taking a pass from Araujo Ilan, after a dummy from Bafetimbi Gomis, to fire home a diagonal shot.

Japan midfielder Daisuke Matsui gave Saint-Etienne a 2-1 lead in the 60th with a powerful strike from 20 meters.

Saint-Etienne remained in the relegation zone with 26 points, but trail 12th-place Monaco by just three points.

Lyon, which tops the standings with 52 points, played Rennes later on Sunday.

On Saturday, it was: Valenciennes 2, Lille 0; Auxerre 1, Toulouse 1; Sochaux 1, Nice 0; Nantes 1, Grenoble 1; and Le Mans 2, Le Havre 0.