Sochaux dent Lille hopes

Barcelona's Argentine striker Lionel Messi (C) came off the bench to score a wonderful solo goal against Athletic Bilbao during their Spanish La Liga match at the San Mames stadium in Bilbao yesterday. Photo: AFP

Relegation threatened Sochaux scored three times in an eight-minute spell at the death to salvage a 3-3 draw at Lille on Friday and hamper their hosts' hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
Cruising at 3-0 up with 11 minutes left through a Salomon Kalou brace and one from Montenegrin Marko Basa, Lille looked set to leapfrog Lyon into third place and a Champions League qualifying position.
But an incredible eight-minute blast from Sochaux, who nevertheless remain third from bottom and in the drop zone, blew a hole in Lille's Euro hopes.
Cedric Kante set Sochaux on their way before Vincent Noguiera twice found the target.
It means Lille remain fifth, behind Saint-Etienne, but could drop three points off a Champions League place while a win for Nice at home to rock bottom Troyes on Sunday would move them level on points with Lille in the race for fifth place, and a Europa League berth.
League leaders Paris Saint-Germain could all but mathematically sew up the title on Sunday with a victory at Evian.
If Marseille lose at Lorient and Lyon fail to beat Saint-Etienne in their local derby, PSG would need only one more point to be champions.
But even then, with a +40 goal difference compared to Marseille's +5, only a remarkable swing could keep the title out of Parisian hands at the end of the season.