PARIS, Nov 22: Amine Gouiri scored twice on Sunday as Nice rallied past Clermont 2-1 to climb to second place in the French league, 11 points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain.
In the latest round to be marred by fan violence, a game in Lyon was abandoned with the score at 0-0 after Marseille midfielder Dimitri Payet was hit on the head by a bottle of water thrown from the stands while taking a corner kick. Payet collapsed to the ground in the fifth minute but got up after receiving treatment.
The referee ordered players to head back to the locker room with play suspended. About two hours after kickoff, it was announced that the game had been abandoned.
Against Clermont, Nice winger Gouiri equalized with a volley in the 77th. He then raised his tally to eight league goals this season by controlling a corner in the 82nd before guiding the ball into the far corner.
Clermont took the lead in the 17th when Florent Ogier headed in a free kick.
Also Sunday, Brest earned a third straight win in the French league by stunning Lens 4-0 to move away from the relegation zone.
Benin striker Steve Mounie opened the scoring in the third minute.
Brest captain Brendan Chardonnet doubled the lead in the 13th by diverting in a corner with his back. Romain Faivre notched his fifth goal this season with a curling shot from the edge of the box to make it 3-0 in the 33rd.
Le Douaron put the result beyond doubt in the 69th, firing into the top corner.
Angers moved into sixth place by edging Lorient 1-0 with a penalty from Thomas Mangani in the 67th.
Strasbourg equalized with the last kick of the game in a 1-1 draw with Reims as Jean-Ricner Bellegarde curled home a free kick in the 7th minute of stoppage time.
Saint-Etienne remained in the relegation zone despite beating Troyes 1-0 with a strike from Peru defender Miguel Trauco in the 61st.
Opa Nguette came off the bench and scored twice to help bottom side Metz rally from a 2-0 deficit and draw 3-3 with Bordeaux. (AP)
