Saint-Etienne forward Emmanuel Riviere kicks the ball to score a goal.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARIS, France -- Marseille routed Valenciennes 5-1 in the French league on Sunday to get back in the race for a European spot.

Earlier, Saint-Etienne beat Monaco 3-0 to move clear of the relegation zone and 10-man Lyon salvaged a point at Toulouse with a scoreless draw.

Bordeaux still tops the standings with 48 points from 23 matches. But the defending champion had its lead cut to three points Saturday after it lost 4-2 to Rennes and Montpellier beat Boulogne 2-0 to consolidate second place and increase the pressure on the league leader.

In Marseille, Hatem Ben Arfa played Lucho Gonzalez in with a back-heel pass and the Argentine midfielder scored from six yards (meters) in the 34th minute.

Then Nigeria fullback Taye Taiwo hoisted the ball into the box and Gonzalez knocked it down for Brandao, who took a touch and spun to flick home in the 43rd minute.

Benoit Cheyrou made it 3-0 in the 53rd with a drive from the edge of the box that deflected off a defender's leg to beat goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau.

Colombian midfielder Carlos Sanchez pulled a goal back for Valenciennes in the 66th, outjumping the Marseille defence to head in a corner kick.

But Mathieu Valbuena added a fourth goal for Marseille in the 77th. Senegal striker Mamadou Niang sent in a high cross from the left flank that Vitorino Hilton laid off for Valbuena, who placed the ball out of the goalkeeper's reach from 20 yards (meters).

Niang rounded up the scoring in extra time, burying a low cross from Souleymane Diawara and taking his tally to 10 goals this season.

"We have to keep it going," Marseille coach Didier Deschamps told Canal Plus television. "We still have many matches to play. We're in the middle of a long stretch: February and March. Let's collect the maximum number of points. Then we'll see at the beginning of April if we can play a role in the final sprint."

Marseille climbed to fifth place with 39 points while Valenciennes remained in the middle of the table with 32.

In Saint-Etienne, Dimitri Payet set up Blaise Matuidi, who fired into the top corner in the 15th. Argentine forward Gonzalo Bergessio doubled the lead with an angled strike under the crossbar in the 75th before Emmanuel Riviere sealed the win in stoppage time with a curling shot.

The result ended Monaco's four-game winning streak in the league and allowed Saint-Etienne to move up to 16th place with 23 points, seven above the drop zone.

"It's a nice performance," Saint-Etienne coach Christophe Galtier said, "We defeated a good team that was riding the momentum of a nine-game unbeaten run (in all competitions)."

Monaco slipped to sixth place, level on points with Marseille.

In Toulouse, Lyon earned a point but missed an opportunity to take third place, staying in fourth with 40 points, one behind Lille.

Mid-table Toulouse dominated the match but couldn't convert its chances. Andre-Pierre Gignac's header crashed against the post in the 36th.

In the second half, Brazilian midfielder Luan skipped past the Lyon defence and was clean through on goal in the 49th but his chip was off target.

Lyon was reduced to 10 men in the 67th when Cameroon midfielder Jean Makoun was sent off after receiving a second yellow card.

"We faced a very good Toulouse side that created many chances," Lyon midfielder Maxime Gonalons told the club's Web site. "We didn't concede, and that's a positive. We were down to 10 men, so earning a point here is a good result."

On Saturday, it was: Nice 1, Lille 1; Grenoble 5, Auxerre 0; Paris Saint-Germain 0, Lorient 3; Sochaux 1, Nancy 1; and Lens 2, Le Mans 1.