Lyon won Saturday against Nice, on the 16th day of Ligue 1, and temporarily takes the lead in the championship, pending Sunday's clash between Lille and PSG.
For its part, Marseille let slip precious points by not doing better than a draw against Reims.
Thanks to Tino Kadewere, Lyon tamed Nice (4-1) on Saturday to seize the provisional first place in Ligue 1 pending the shock at the Lille-Paris SG summit on Sunday for the 16th day.
For Lyon, undefeated since mid-September, the momentum remains on the rise despite the draw conceded in extremis Wednesday against Brest (2-2): the "Gones" made up for it on Saturday with great success in Nice, just before concluding their year 2020 next Wednesday against Nantes.
And the fit man is called Tino Kadewere: the Zimbabwean striker, already decisive last weekend against PSG (1-0), was involved in the four Lyon goals on Saturday.
The former Havre first caused a penalty converted by Memphis Depay with a panenka (32nd), he then doubled the bet by nabbing a bad pass to conclude with composure (39th).
Then he rushed into space before shifting to a plateau Karl Toko Ekambi (63rd), and he initiated the action of the fourth goal, signed Houssem Aouar (73rd).
Enough to disgust the Niçois still so dull despite the reduction in the score of former Lyonnais Amine Gouiri with a plunging header (44th).
What also propel OL to the top of the provisional classification (33 pts) while awaiting the tempting confrontation between Lille (32 pts) and Paris (31 pts) Sunday evening (9:00 p.m.).
OM dominate but draw
For its part, OM (4th, 28 pts) undoubtedly let slip two precious points against the Stade de Reims, copiously dominating their opponent without being able to make the difference.
After a series of six straight victories in L1, the defeat in Rennes on Wednesday (2-1) and the draw against Reims record the slowing down and the fatigue of André Villas-Boas' team, which keeps a mattress of two matches late but will have to redress the bar Wednesday in Angers just before the break.
At the Stade Vélodrome, the Marseillais conceded an avoidable goal in the first period, the Japanese defender Yuto Nagatomo having inadvertently slipped the ball deep in his own goal (21st).
After this failed start, OM pushed and ended up equalizing on a return from the head of Argentinian center-forward Dario Benedetto for Florian Thauvin (45th).
Metz continues its rise
In Metz, we can start to look upwards: winners in Montpellier (2-0) on Wednesday, the Lorrainers continued on Saturday against Lens, and on the same score, with a good performance from their playmaker Farid Boulaya.
The Algerian international, omnipresent, unblocked the meeting with a light pass in space for Opa Nguette, scorer in force (30th).
The Lensois, them, did not confirm their clear victory in Monaco (3-0) nor their good series of three successes in a row away: their timid offensives lacked precision and they were punished in the end. match by a shot wrapped halfway up the inevitable Boulaya (90th + 4), which brings Metz back in the first part of the table.
With this sixth victory of the season, the Mosellans provisionally point to a promising 8th place with 23 points, a short distance behind the Lensois (7th, 24 pts).
All results
Saturday :
Metz - Lens 2 - 0
Marseille - Reims 1 - 1
Nice - Lyon 1 - 4