That win bettered the mark of 13 wins from the opening 16 contests set by Paris St Germain in the 1985/86 season.

And incredibly it was Lyon's coach Gerard Houllier who was in charge of that team as well.

The victory moved Lyon on to 43 points but was due more to industry than flair as former Arsenal forward Sylvain Wiltord headed home a free-kick from Brazil midfielder Juninho just before the hour mark.

Houllier was not interested in his team's record-breaking feat, preferring to concentrate on improving another record they broke last season.

That was when Lyon won a record fifth title in a row and they now look almost certain to add a sixth to that run with nearest challengers Lens already 14 points off the pace.

"We have taken a giant step towards the title," said a beaming Houllier when interviewed by Canal Plus.

"What pleased me was that we cleared the ball when we had to, when you're under the cosh, you're under the cosh. Today we controlled the game. This was a victory for hard work. Solidarity and control paid off."

Houllier may have been letting himself get carried away by a narrow victory at one of the league's minnows, but Le Mans coach Frederic Hantz had a more sobre assessment of the situation.

"Football is a game played by 11 players and at the end, Lyon win," Hantz said.

Lyon's next league game is away to PSG next Sunday and president Jean-Michel Aulas is remaining cautious given the violenece and racsim problems suffered by their great rivals recently.

PSG's match at home to Toulouse on Sunday had to be postponed over security concerns and Aulas is not sure that next week's match will definietly go ahead either.

"The role of managers is to anticipate difficulties. I will call my counterpart (at PSG) Alain Cayzac to find out the situation," said Aulas.

"We are going to try to do everything possible to make sure all precautions are taken. We will not hesitate to ensure no risks are taken."

Lens took sole possession of second place in the table with a 3-0 home win over last seasons runners-up Bordeaux.

Vitorino Hilton opened the scoring on 40 minutes and Daniel Cousin made the points safe on 57 minutes before Issam Jemaa's late cherry on the cake.

Lille, who travel to Nancy on Sunday, could take back second place with a victory, while Sochaux, who host Marseille on Sunday, could also claim second spot but they would need a victory by at least five goals.

Struggling Monaco gave their beleaguered fans something to cheer about with a 3-0 coasting against Valenciennes.

Yaya Toure opened the scoring on 37 minutes before second half goals from Serge Gakpe and Jan Koller sealed a comfortable win.

Meanwhile in St Etienne, where the hosts beat Lorient 2-0 through second half strikes from Marek Heinz and Frederic Piquionne, supporters demonstrated their support for the hard-core PSG fans whose behaviour forced the abandonnement of the PSG-Toulouse match.

Even the small contingent of travelling Lorient fans pledged their support to their fellow 'ultras' while one St Etienne banner denounced misinformation. St Etienne's victory moved them up to third in the table.