Lyon battled to a 1-0 win on a waterlogged pitch at Sochaux on Saturday to earn their 22nd point out of a possible 24.

Lyon manager Gerard Houllier praised their efforts in tough conditions but Marseille cut their lead to just three points thanks to goals from Taye Taiwo, Habib Bamogo and Lorik Cana.

Marseille had bounced back admirably from two defeats -- 2-1 at Nantes and then from their midweek UEFA Cup exit at the hands of Czech side Mlada Boleslav, even though key player Franck Ribery had been suspended.

Marseille went ahead in the 45th minute when Taiwo found the net after Mamadou Niang got the better of three defenders and then backheeled to his teammate.

Taiwo controlled the ball before hitting a fierce shot past Toulouse keeper Nicolas Douchez.

Then in the second minute of first-half injury time, Bamogo doubled Marseille's advantage. Mickael Pagis got hold of the ball in Toulouse's half and found Bamogo who made no mistake.

Two minutes after the break, Cana hit a third for Marseille from just by the penalty spot, though in the ensuing minutes Toulouse's Nicolas Dieuze headed the ball on to the post from a corner.

Marseille coach Albert Emon said: "We had a little bit of luck but we knew how to capitalise on it. We have won 3-0 against opponents who are not easy but we have enough mental and physical energy to make the difference."

Houllier had made six changes to the starting-11 which won 3-0 at Steaua Bucharest in Champions League action in midweek and it proved to be a match in which the five-times French champions struggled.

Houllier said afterwards he was proud of his players for the way they played, particularly because of the difficult conditions after a big storm had flooded the pitch.

"You normally see a flamboyant, dominant Lyon who pass the ball around well but tonight was different," he said.

"This away game was played against a very motivated team in difficult weather conditions which prevented us from playing our usual game.

"Considering that, I think we played a superb match. I must congratulate my players for their intelligence in adapting to the conditions and for the effort they showed."

Lyon's breakthrough came from a mistake in the 78th minute. A poor back pass by Sochaux's Dusko Tosic fell into the path of Sylvain Wiltord, who had only come on moments earlier, and he made no mistake to put the ball past Sochaux keeper Teddy Richert.

In other matches on Sunday, Nancy beat Lens 2-1, Auxerre had a 1-0 victory over Nantes, and hapless Paris Saint Germain fell 1-0 at St Etienne.

PSG lost out to an Araujo Ilan goal in the 38th minute which leaves the club seventh from bottom with just two wins from eight matches so far.