Lyon go four points clear on top of Ligue 1 with convincing win over RC Lens

Alexandre Lacazette celebrates his goal for Lyon

Paris, Jan 18 (IANS) French Ligue 1 top scorer Alexandre Lacazette claimed his 20th league goal of the season and helped Lyon go four points clear at the top of the table after a 2-0 away win over struggling RC Lens.

The 23-year-old striker converted a penalty kick in the 26th minute since Boubacar Sylla had handled the ball in the area, just five minutes after his team opened scoring with an own goal from Lens defender Jean-Philippe Gbamin while trying to clear a Nabil Fekir cross Saturday, reports Xinhua.

With the victory, Hubert Fournier's side moved on to 45 points, four points clear of Marseille, who host EAG Guingamp Sunday evening.

Like Marseille, the other two title hopefuls Paris Saint-Germain and Saint-Etienne are also in action Sunday, with PSG playing Evian FC at home and St-Etienne visiting Stade Rennes FC.

At the other end of the table, rock-bottom Caen moved to within a point of Lens after beating Stade de Reims 4-1, their first league win since October.

In other matches Saturday, Monaco closed in on the top four with a 1-0 win over FC Nantes, Montpellier HSC jumped to sixth after beating FC Metz 3-2, last season's third finishers Lille missed the opportunity to climb into the top half of the table after being beaten 1-0 by FC Lorient, and Toulouse FC stumbled to a 1-1 draw at home to SC Bastia.