Lyon move up to second, Marseille earn a hard-fought draw in Ligue 1

PARIS, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Lyon found themselves on the second position with a 2-1 road victory over Caen, while visiting Marseille recorded a hard-fought 1-1 tie against Montpellier in the 16th round action of Ligue 1 on Sunday.

Maxwel Cornet broke the deadlock for Lyon 10 minutes into the match following brilliant teamwork. The visitors built a two-goal advantage early in the second half, as striker Mariano Diaz scored his 12th goal of the campaign.

Ivan Santini got one back for Caen in the 90th minute. Caen's substitute Jordan Nkololo almost scored an equalizer in stoppage time.

Marseille, however, met strong resistance from Montpellier in maintaining their second place. Giovanni Sio finished a volley on a deflected cross to beat Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda in the 29th minute.

Montpellier captain Vitorino Hilton was penalized for a hand ball late in the first half, before Marseille forward Florian Thauvin converted the spot kick for his eighth league goal of the season.

Montpellier scored their second of the match with just several minutes remaining, but it was cancelled by the referee for Hilton's offside.

The hosts still had chance to kill the game. However, Nordi Mukiele's header on a free-kick went beyond the crossbar in stoppage time.

Lyon, Monaco and Marseille were all 32 points after 16 matches, nine points adrift leaders Paris Saint-Germain, who surprisingly lost their first match this season to promoted Strasbourg on Saturday. Lyon were placed second on superior goal difference.

Also on Sunday, Saint-Etienne extended their winless record to seven matches as they tied Nantes 1-1 at home. Enditem