Lille squander opportunity as rivals falter

French champions Lille failed to exploit slip-ups by several of their rivals after throwing away a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw at home to second-bottom Auxerre on Saturday. With leaders Montpellier drawing and Saint-Etienne, Lyon and Marseille all losing, Lille had a huge opportunity to tighten their grip on third place but despite leading 2-0 with 10 minutes to go, they were unable to defend their advantage. Lyon sank to their 10th defeat of the season at Nancy and now find themselves seven points behind Lille in the battle for a Champions League place, seriously compromising their chances of reaching next season's competition. Marseille, meanwhile, are a point behind Lyon and Rennes in eighth place, although they have a game in hand at Evian on Tuesday. Eden Hazard had set Lille on course for victory, breaking the deadlock in the 34th minute with a low free-kick from the left that crept in at the back post and then netting a 63rd-minute penalty after he had been fouled by Willy Boly. The hosts had seen Mauro Cetto sent off following a last-man foul on Dennis Oliech shortly after Hazard's opener, but Auxerre conceded their numerical advantage when Anthony Le Tallec saw red for a high challenge on Benoit Pedretti. However, former Chelsea striker Ben Sahar reduced the arrears with 10 minutes to play and four minutes later, Cedric Hengbart equalised with a header from a corner to leave Rudi Garcia's side ruing what might have been. "It really feels like a waste," said Garcia. "We're leading 2-0 and we've handled Auxerre's good moments well. And then we lack application and intelligence. "We only have ourselves to blame." Having taken over top spot from Paris Saint-Germain last weekend, Montpellier narrowly avoided their first defeat of 2012 in a 1-1 draw at Dijon. On-loan Chelsea midfielder Gael Kakuta had put Dijon ahead in the 67th minute but substitute Jonathan Tinhan equalised two minutes from time, claiming his first Ligue 1 goal with a header from Marco Estrada's free-kick to put his team two points clear. "Looking at how the game unfolded, it's a pretty good point," said Montpellier coach Rene Girard, who was missing top scorer Olivier Giroud through suspension and playmaker Younes Belhanda due to injury. Lyon will take a 1-0 lead into the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie at Cypriot side APOEL on Wednesday but their hopes of a top three-finish in Ligue 1 are receding rapidly following their latest setback at Nancy. Sebastien Puygrenier put Nancy ahead with a 66th-minute header from Yohan Mollo's right-wing corner before Djamel Bakar sealed victory nine minutes later by finishing off a counter-attack with a crisp strike. "There's still hope," said Lyon coach Remi Garde, whose side host Lille next weekend. "It's difficult for all the teams. But we're lucky that we still have to play two or three direct rivals, starting with our next match." Beaten 1-0 by Brest last weekend, Marseille slumped to a second consecutive defeat after Aymen Abdennour's 66th-minute header for Toulouse condemned OM to only their second home loss of the season and lifted Alain Casanova's side up to fifth. Fourth-placed Saint-Etienne could not capitalise on the stasis around them either as they fell 2-0 at home to Evian, while bottom club Sochaux drew 1-1 at home to Valenciennes. Nice clambered out of the relegation zone on goal difference after claiming their first away win of the season with a 2-1 victory at Bordeaux in Saturday's late game. Having rescued a point in an incredible 4-4 draw at Lyon last weekend, PSG can reclaim top spot from Montpellier with victory at home to Ajaccio on Sunday.