Sat May 17 17:40:25 2008

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Lyon topples Auxerre to clinch seventh straight title

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Auxerre, France (Sports Network) - Lyon clinched its seventh straight Ligue 1 title on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Auxerre at Stade Abbe-Deschamps.

Lyon entered the day knowing that a draw would likely be enough to secure the title, but the defending champs did more than that, getting two goals inside of 10 minutes to take charge of the game.

Karim Benzema scored in the opening minute of the game and Fred added a second goal to give the visitors a 2-0 lead heading into halftime. Kim Kallstrom then added a third goal seven minutes into the second half before Auxerre got on the scoreboard through Frederic Thomas 12 minutes from time.

Benzema notched his league-leading 19th goal of the year 30 seconds into the game after he took a neat pass from Fred and beat Auxerre goalkeeper Remy Riou.

Fred then got himself on the scoresheet in the 10th minute when he volleyed home a cross from Kader Keita at the back post to make it 2-0.

Lyon was in complete control of the match and was unlucky not be ahead by more at the break, but Anthony Reveillere's cross in the second half found the head of Kallstrom inside the area to make it 3-0, with Thomas scoring a close-range volley to get Auxerre on the scoreboard in the 78th minute.

Lyon will now attempt to capture its first ever league and cup double when they meet PSG in the French Cup final next Saturday.

Bordeaux finished four points back of Lyon after being held to a 2-2 draw by Lens. Toifilou Maoulida scored in the 84th minute for Lens, but it was not enough to keep the club from being relegated because both PSG and Toulouse earned wins on Saturday.

PSG beat Sochaux 2-1 as Amara Diane scored twice, while Toulouse secured a 2-1 win over Valenciennes on a 75th-minute goal from Francois Sirieix.

Marseille claimed the third Champions League spot after rallying to beat Strasbourg 4-3, while Nancy fell to fourth after losing 3-2 to Rennes. Djibril Cisse scored two goals, including the winner in the 78th minute for Marseille, while Rennes claimed a place in the UEFA Cup with their win.

St. Etienne grabbed the other UEFA Cup berth with a 4-0 win over Monaco as Bafetimbi Gomis scored twice, last-place Metz ended on a positive note, beating Le Mans 4-3, Nice downed Caen 3-1, and Lorient finished 1-1 with Lille.