Lyon moved up to fourth place in the table with a second-half surge that helped them secure a vital 3-1 victory at Auxerre in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
The win puts Lyon one point ahead of Lille and Strasbourg in the race for a Champions League spot, as they now sit on 51 points.
Georges Mikautadze opened the scoring for Lyon with a penalty in the 54th minute before Rayan Cherki doubled the lead with a beautifully curled finish eight minutes later.
Auxerre responded with Lassine Sinayoko’s goal 13 minutes from time, raising hopes for a comeback. However, Lyon captain Alexandre Lacazette restored the two-goal advantage in the 84th minute, sealing the win for Paulo Fonseca’s side.
Lyon now turn their focus to their upcoming Europa League quarter-final clash with Manchester United, with the first leg having ended 2-2 at the Groupama Stadium.
Meanwhile, Saint-Etienne’s hopes of avoiding relegation were boosted slightly after they managed to secure a 3-3 draw at home against Brest.
Brest had been leading 2-1 at one point after goals from Ludovic Ajorque and Abdallah Sima, but Saint-Etienne fought back with goals from Lucas Stassin and Irvin Cardona. Ajorque’s second goal put Brest ahead once more, but Cardona struck again late to ensure a share of the spoils for Les Verts.
The draw leaves Saint-Etienne just three points behind Le Havre, who occupy the relegation play-off spot, and both teams will look to improve their fortunes as the season draws to a close.
In other Ligue 1 action, Le Havre were thrashed 5-1 at home by Rennes. Early goals from Azor Matusiwa, Lorenz Assignon, and Arnaud Kalimuendo put Rennes in control.
Junior Mwanga’s goal before the break gave Le Havre a brief lifeline, but second-half strikes from Musa Al-Taamari and Carlos Andres Gomez sealed the win for the visitors.
Bottom side Montpellier’s struggles continued as they suffered their 22nd defeat of the season, losing 2-0 to Angers. The victory saw Angers rise to 14th in the table, while Montpellier remained in the relegation zone.
