Lens was overwhelmed by northern rival Lille 3-0 and lost ground in the Ligue 1 title race after the Derby du Nord was briefly interrupted because of discriminatory chanting on Saturday.
A day after Paris Saint-Germain increased its lead to four points by beating Toulouse 3-1, Lens endured an off night. PSG is in an ideal position to retain its league title as it has a game in hand over second-placed Lens going into the final rounds.
The game was halted in the 35th minute and the announcer at Stade Pierre-Mauroy urged the Lille fans to stop the insults hurled at their opponents. The referee threatened to take the players back to the dressing room.
After the game resumed, Matias Fernandez-Pardo delivered an assist and scored to guide his team to third place, nine points behind Lens.
Hákon Haraldsson put the host ahead just before the interval, finishing a swift move sparked by a long, precise pass from Lille captain Aïssa Mandi. Fernandez-Pardo burst down the left flank then slipped the ball between two defenders and found the unmarked Haraldsson at the far post.
An embarrassing mix-up led to Lille’s second goal. Matthieu Udol’s poor back pass was intercepted by Felix Correia after Nidal Celik let the ball run. The Portuguese winger was quicker to the ball than goalkeeper Robin Risser and scored in an empty net in the 50th.
Lens later was awarded a penalty after Ismaëlo Ganiou handled the ball in the box. Fernandez-Pardo wrongfooted Risser from the spot to put the Derby du Nord firmly beyond Lens.
No Panichelli no problem
Without its top striker, Strasbourg extended its unbeaten run in all competitions to 10 matches with a 3-1 win over Nice.
Joaquín Panichelli tore his right ACL while training with Argentina last week and underwent surgery on Thursday. He will miss the World Cup and maybe the start of next season, too. Panichelli leads the French league with 16 goals.
In his absence, winger Martial Godo and Samir El-Mourabet delighted the home fans to keep eighth-placed Strasbourg in contention for a European spot.
Godo hit the crossbar after 24 minutes and broke the deadlock soon after with another header into the far corner. They went into halftime 3-0 ahead after scores from midfielders Julio Enciso and El-Mourabet, the latter striking a beautiful half-volley from outside the box.
After dribbling past the Nice goalkeeper to make it 2-0, Enciso put on a jersey emblazoned with the name Panichelli before celebrating his goal in front of the Strasbourg fans.
More good news for Strasbourg was the sight of captain Emanuel Emegha, who will join Chelsea next season, returning from a four-month injury layoff when he went on in the 77th.
Defender Antoine Mendy pulled one back in the 82nd for Nice, which slumped to a 15th defeat. Strasbourg and Nice will face off again in the French Cup semifinals on April 22.
7-goal thriller in Brittany
Rennes won a spectacular encounter at Brest 4-3. Esteban Lepaul scored twice from the penalty spot including the winner.
The visitors came from behind after Junior Dina Ebimbe also had a brace for Brest.
Lepaul netted the winner from the spot in the 74th. Goalkeeper Grégoire Coudert dived the right way but couldn’t get enough touch to stop the strike.
Rennes rose to sixth place, just three points behind Lille.
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