Moses Simon helped FC Nantes to a 3-1 win at second-placed Olympique de Marseille on Saturday to bring OM's unbeaten league run to an end at 14 matches.
THE MATCH
Nantes headed to the Orange Vélodrome winless in five matches with just eight points between them and the bottom three, but Christian Gourcuff's men had drawn their last two, and started brightly.
Simon shot wide (32') before Kader Bamba broke down the left and his cross found Anthony Limbombe all alone at the back post — Nantes' record signing, on his first start since returning from his loan spell at Standard Liege last month, simply had to stoop slightly to head home his first league goal of the campaign (34').
Stung into action, Marseille — unbeaten at home since the opening day of the season — responded. Ex-Nantes man Valentin Rongier forced a save from Alban Lafont (36') before the ex-Toulouse FC goalkeeper was beaten by Morgan Sanson, who sweetly passed the ball into the net from outside the area (39').
Dimitri Payet, back in the starting XI after missing last weekend's win at LOSC Lille, sent a free-kick curling wide (42') and Duje Caleta-Car had a header saved by Lafont (51') as Andre Villas-Boas' men looked like they would pull clear.
Instead, it was Nantes who did that, and in some style: Bamba, who was plucked from the Nantes reserve side, bent a sublime shot in off the far post to put the visitors ahead. Steve Mandanda actually thought the shot was curling wide and could not react as it found the net to give the Nantes man a spectacular first league goal.
Lafont pushed out a Dario Benedetto header (85') and Alvaro Gonzalez should have done better than fire wide (86') as OM pressed late on, but when Mandanda spilled a routine Bamba shot, Simon fired the ball off Gonzalez and into the net to give Stade Rennais FC and Lille hope of closing the gap to OM in second.
THE PLAYER: Kader Bamba
The former Toulouse youth academy prospect looked to be going nowhere fast in the Nantes reserve side last season. Promoted to the first team squad, the 25-year-old is now very much part of Gourcuff's plans, and produced a superb goal.
THE STAT: 18
This was the first league game Gonzalez has lost as an OM player after winning 12 and drawing five in his first 17 top-flight appearances in France.
Lille close in, Monaco held
LOSC Lille took advantage of Marseille's slip and the fact Rennes are playing at home to Nîmes Olympique on Sunday to move into third and close the gap on OM to nine points with a 3-0 home win over Toulouse.
Loïc Rémy scored twice in the first half and Renato Sanches added the third 18 minutes from time as Christophe Galtier's men bounced back from last weekend's defeat to Marseille.
AS Monaco's rise up the table was slowed at Dijon as they missed out on the chance to move into fourth place. Mama Baldé put the hosts ahead 11 minutes into the second half at the Stade Gaston Gérard, and only Guillermo Maripan's second league goal in France 11 minutes from time prevented Robert Moreno's side from slipping to a surprise loss.
Angers SCO ended a miserable run of five straight losses in all competitions as Stéphane Bahoken's second-half goal proved enough for them to dent Montpellier Hérault SC's hopes of closing on the top four while Amiens SC picked up a point in their battle against the drop with a goalless draw at RC Strasbourg Alsace.