Lille geared up for their Champions League trip to Internazionale with a battling 0-0 draw at lowly north-east rivals Valenciennes in Ligue 1.

The French champions, who lost defender Marko Basa to a back injury after six minutes, had the woodwork and decent spells of possession to thank for a point which edged them into third on goal difference.

Lille are bottom of Champions League Group B and need a result in the San Siro on Wednesday to retain their hopes of reaching the knockout round.

Toulouse went above Rennes into fifth after a 1-0 home victory courtesy of Etienne Didot's 26th-minute goal.

The win came in spite of Antoine Devaux being dismissed for a dangerous tackle on 55 minutes.

In the other Sunday match, the referee showed nine yellow cards and one red in Nice's 1-1 draw with Sochaux on the Cote d'Azur.

Leaders Paris St Germain beat Caen 4-2 at a wet Parc des Princes on Saturday to stay three clear of Montpellier while Lyon, level on points with Lille and six behind PSG after 12 games, won their own derby 2-0 at home to St Etienne.

Reuters