Sat Apr 12 16:41:30 2008

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Mbia steals late draw for Rennes against Lyon

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Lyon, France (Sports Network) - Lyon's quest for a seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title suffered another small setback on Saturday as Stephane Mbia scored in the 90th minute to help Rennes earn a 1-1 draw against Lyon at the Stade de Gerland.

Cris scored 16 minutes into the game to give the home side the lead, but Lyon was unable to add a second goal and Mbia made them pay in the dying minutes with an equalizer for Rennes.

The result leaves Lyon seven points clear of second-place Bordeaux, which hosts Caen on Sunday and can move to within four points with a win.

Lyon looked to be well on its way to another three points as Juninho's corner kick in the 16th minute was headed powerfully home by Cris for his first goal of the season.

The home side tried to add to its lead in the first half as Juninho twice tested Rennes goalkeeper Patrice Luzi with free kicks, but both times the keeper was up to the task.

Lyon striker Karim Benzema returned to the lineup three weeks after suffering a knee injury, but he was denied by the crossbar in the 55th minute.

The lead remained a goal into stoppage time but Rennes made the most of a corner to level the match with Mickael Pagis' cross finding Mbia inside the box for a header to earn Rennes a point.

Marseille climbed into third place with a 2-1 win against Metz, while Nancy fell to fourth place with a 2-1 loss to Lille.

Toulouse moved three point clear of the drop zone by beating Monaco 2-0, Lens fell 1-0 to Lorient, Valenciennes beat Strasbourg 2-0, Le Mans toppled Auxerre 3-0 and Sochaux and St Etienne finished 1-1.