Nene scored twice as Paris St Germain thrashed Sochaux 6-1 to close the gap on Ligue 1 leaders Montpellier to two points.
Javier Pastore set the capital club on their way in the fourth minute and although Modibo Maiga levelled eight minutes later, it was one-way traffic thereon in.
Thiago Motta, Jeremy Menez and two from Nene made it five before Sylvain Armand rounded things off in injury time as PSG moved in on Montpellier whose goal difference is now just one better.
Sochaux are left second from bottom although they are just a point from safety.
Lyon moved back into fourth place as they scored twice in the final 15 minutes to complete a turnaround from 2-0 down against Lorient.
Lorient silenced the Stade de Gerland with two goals in the space of five minutes midway through the first half as Kevin Monnet-Paquet and Mathias Autret put them in control.
But Cris got Lyon back into it seven minutes before half-time and, after Lisandro Lopez levelled in the 77th minute, Bafetimbi Gomis struck a winner six minutes from time.
Ajaccio moved out of the Ligue 1 relegation zone with a goalless draw at home to Nancy on Sunday afternoon.
It might have been even better for the hosts, who were denied by the crossbar at the end of the first half, but they had to hang on at the end as they moved a point clear of the bottom three.
An early goal from Souleymane Camara proved enough for Montpellier to eke out a narrow 1-0 victory over Valenciennes on Saturday, which had established a five-point lead over PSG before their victory on Sunday.
Camara put the hosts ahead after just four minutes and, although Montpellier missed numerous chances to ease their nerves with a second, it proved enough for the win.
Champions Lille kept themselves in the title race with a 2-0 victory at relegation-threatened Dijon in a match which saw three players sent off.
LOSC were a player down from the 36th minute, when Idrissa Gueye was sent off for violent conduct, but the visitors made light of their numerical disadvantage and notched twice before half-time through Rio Mavuba and Eden Hazard to seal the points.
Dijon defender Abdoulaye Meite evened up the numbers when he too was dismissed for violent conduct in the first minute of the second half and Bennard Yao Kumordzi followed suit 13 minutes from time - putting paid to the hosts' hopes of getting anything from the game.
A penalty from Julien Feret earned Rennes a third successive win - this one 1-0 - to boost their European hopes and leave Brest in relegation trouble.
The result lifted Rennes up to fourth spot and a Europa League berth, but for Brest it was a fifth loss in six games and left them outside the drop zone only on goal difference.
St Etienne kept their hopes of European qualification very much alive with a thumping 4-1 win at struggling Caen.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice after the break as the visitors stayed a point behind Rennes.
Aurelien Montaroup's own goal put St Etienne in front late in the first half and goals from Aubameyang and Max-Alain Gradel after the break had them three up.
Livio Nabab pulled one back for Caen, but Aubameyang wrapped up an impressive win for the visitors to leave their opponents a point above the drop zone.
Luciano Monzon's first-half penalty proved the difference between the teams as Nice edged towards survival and deepened nine-man Auxerre's relegation fears.
The Argentinian defender converted from the spot in the 36th minute to earn the hosts three vital points, with Auxerre's cause not helped by the dismissal of Dennis Oliech for dissent three minutes later.
Willy Boly added to their woes when he too was sent off 12 minutes from time as Nice climbed four points clear of the drop zone and left basement boys AJA five points adrift of safety with five games remaining.
Toulouse's Europa League ambitions suffered a blow as two Aldo Angoula goals handed Evian a 2-0 victory at the Parc des Sports.
Angoula put the home side ahead after 10 minutes and added a second, shortly after Wissam Ben Yedder had levelled for Toulouse, who slip to seventh.
Marseille's winless run was extended to 12 games as Bordeaux won 2-1 at the Stade Chaban-Delmas.
Jussie opened the scoring inside the opening minute and the Brazilian doubled his tally shortly before the half-hour mark.
Jordan Ayew pulled one back 10 minutes into the second half but Marseille could not find an equaliser with Bordeaux also missing a second-half penalty from Benoit Tremoulinas.
