Boulogne: Champions Girondins Bordeaux continued their strong start to the season with a 2-0 win at promoted Boulogne in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Four days after starting their Champions League campaign with a deserved 1-1 draw at Juventus on Tuesday, Bordeaux returned to domestic duties in confident fashion.
Coach Laurent Blanc rested several players, making seven changes from the starting lineup he fielded at Juventus, but it did not seem to have much impact on their performance.
"Those who played knew what they had to do and showed they shared the team's spirit," Blanc told reporters. "Everybody's pushing in the same direction. I like that."
Forward Yoan Gouffran headed home from a corner to put the visitors ahead after 34 minutes. Bordeaux doubled their advantage when Boulogne defender Yoann Lachor headed a Yoann Gourcuff free kick into his own net with 20 minutes left.
Bordeaux moved on to 16 points from six games, two points clear of second-placed Olympique Marseille, who kept the pressure on the leaders by beating promoted Montpellier 4-2.
Marseille, eager to make amends after a 2-1 Champions League home defeat by AC Milan in midweek, killed off the match as a contest with three goals in seven minutes around the half-hour.
Incident-Packed Match
Olympique Lyon were in third place three points off the pace before visiting Paris St Germain on Sunday.
Stade Rennes moved into fourth spot, four points behind the leaders, with an emphatic 4-0 win at bottom club Grenoble in an incident-packed match.
The home side were 3-0 down after 20 minutes and the referee stopped the game for a few seconds on the half-hour after flares and firecrackers were thrown on to the pitch.
Missiles returned in the second half after a fourth Rennes goal and the game was stopped again with 20 minutes left.
Police moved in to calm the crowd and the match eventually resumed but Grenoble, who have lost all their six matches so far, face sanctions and could be forced to play a game behind closed doors.
Monaco climbed two places to fifth, level on 12 points with Rennes, thanks to a 3-1 win at Nice in a Riviera derby featuring two goals from Argentine midfielder Alejandro Alonso.
That game was tense, too, with fights breaking out in the stands and police moving in while the game went on. However, no injuries or arrests were reported.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, September 20, 2009, 11:21