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Lyon's hopes of clinching an eighth consecutive Ligue 1 title suffered another blow when they were held to a goalless draw at home to Paris St-Germain.

Lyon remain third in the standings on 61 points with five games left, three points adrift of leaders Marseille, who travel to Lille on Sunday.

The hosts, who lost 1-0 at Girondins Bordeaux last weekend, dominated the match but were denied by PSG goalkeeper Mickael Landreau, who made a couple of great saves after the interval.

PSG stay fourth on 60 points.

Lyon were denied a penalty on the stroke of halftime when Karim Benzema's header appeared to have been deflected by the hand of PSG defender Ceara.

The linesman signalled for a penalty but referee Bertrand Layec thought otherwise, awarding a corner to Lyon.

"(The handball) was deliberate and it was a deliberate decision from the referee to cancel the decision of the linesman, who had seen the reality," Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas told French TV channel Orange Sport.

Lyon enjoyed most of the possession but PSG were dangerous on the counter attack with Guillaume Hoarau denied by keeper Hugo Lloris in the 57th minute after being set up by Ceara's defence-splitting pass.

The hosts also had a clear chance with 20 minutes remaining when Francois Clerc's attempt from just inside the area was parried by Landreau, who also made a superb save to keep out a Juninho free kick.

France striker Benzema, who has been struggling this year, hit the post in the 84th after collecting a Juninho pass on the edge of the area.

"We needed all three points. We deserved better. It is a blow for our title hopes," Lyon coach Claude Puel told French Orange Sport. "But we will fight until the end anyway."

PSG defender Zoumana Camara added: "We have some regrets. They are still ahead of us but they have some tough matches ahead. Anything can happen for the Champions League spot."

The top two in Ligue 1 qualify automatically for the Champions League group stage while the third-placed team goes into a two-legged playoff for a place in the group stage.

Eurosport