Nice hit Bordeaux for six, St-Etienne close gap on PSG in Ligue 1

Hatem Ben Arfa scored twice as Nice hammered 10-man Bordeaux 6-1, when Saint-Etienne kept up the pressure on French Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain with a 1-0 win at Troyes.

Jaroslav Plasil, returning from a four-month injury layoff, gave Les Bordeaux an early lead on six minutes on Wednesday, but Valerie Germain headed them level on 33 minutes before Mickael Le Bihan had Nice 2-1 ahead at half-time, reports Xinhua.

Things got even worse for the visitors after the re-start with a red card for Enzo Crivelli in the 50th minute and an own-goal by Nicolas Pallois just a minute later.

Ben Arfa tapped in on 68 minutes to make it 3-1, before Alexandre Mendy added the sixth in the 84th minute.

The second straight win at the Allianz Riviera stadium lifted Claude Puel's side to the eighth spot in Ligue 1 standings, while Bordeaux dropped to the 16th.

Thanks to an own goal from Troyes' Thomas Ayase, Saint-Etienne claimed their fifth successive league win at Troyes and moved within a point of the current champions PSG.

Ayase tried to keep track with the onrushing striker Romain Hamouma on 13 minutes but only turned the cross into his own goal, which proved to be enough to continue Troyes' winless start to the season.

Teenager Aldo Kalulu scored his first ever Ligue 1 goal as Lyon secured their first home win of the season with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Bastia.

In the late game, Marseille substitute Michy Batshuayi scored a 90th minute equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw at Toulouse after three men had been sent off.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, Gazelec Ajaccio brought an end to a five-match losing streak but had to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw with Rennes, and Lorient made it three wins in a row with a 2-0 victory at home to Caen.