France

Senegalese striker Mamadou Niang hauled Olympique Marseille out of the Ligue 1 relegation zone with an accomplished brace.

Niang struck twice as Marseille climbed to 17th thanks to a surprise 2-1 victory at leaders Olympique Lyon on Sunday.

He converted a cool first-half penalty to cancel out the home side's early opener and then clinched victory with a superb effort after the break, slipping away from two Lyon defenders and finished powerfully.

On Saturday, Ivorian midfielder Romaric N'Dri scored for Le Mans in their 3-2 home victory over St Etienne.

The result may have been more comfortable had Le Mans's Benin midfielder Stephane Sessegnon not been sent-off just half an hour into the game.

Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba was the only African to hit the target on a difficult weekend for some of the continent's brightest talents.

Drogba's near-post header put Chelsea 1-0 up against Everton, but a last-gasp equaliser from Australian Tim Cahill prevented the Londoners from taking all three points.

Zimbabwe's Benjani Mwaruwari, the Premier League's top scorer, was again impressive for Portsmouth but his side were held to a 0-0 draw at home to high-flying Manchester City.

Frederic Kanoute scored his sixth league goal of the season

Frederic Kanoute scored his sixth league goal of the season but the Malian forward could not prevent his Sevilla side going down 3-2 at Villarreal.

Kanoute sprung the offside trap and finished in typical fashion to make it 1-1 10 minutes before halftime, but Villarreal are formidable opponents at El Madrigal and sealed their win with a penalty four minutes from time.

A powerful right-footed strike from DR Congo striker Mohamed Tchite was enough to secure three points for Racing Santander at Deportivo Coruna on Sunday.

The home side had enough chances to win comfortably, but Tchite's solitary goal in the 69th minute means Racing are now unbeaten in seven games.

Senegal defender Ferdinand Coly breathed a sigh of relief after his sending off looked to have cost his Parma side a Serie A point at home to Juventus on Sunday.

The game ended 2-2 but only after a seemingly legitimate Vincenzo Iaquinta strike was ruled out deep into stoppage time after Coly had become the second Parma player to be dismissed.

Ivorian forward Sekou Cisse capped a 5-1 home win for Roda JC Kerkrade over Groningen and Ghanaian striker Matthew Amoah scored in NAC Breda's 1-1 draw at Twente Enschede.

FC Brussels put their recent troubles with DR Congo's Zola Matumona behind them and included him in the starting line up of their 4-1 defeat of Dender. Rwanda striker Henri Munyaneza got the consolation for Dender. Senegalese defender Khalifa Sankare helped Zulte-Waregem to get all three points after giving them the lead in the 2-1 victory over 10-man Mouscron. Cameroon striker Bertin Tomou pulled a goal back for Mouscron in the 69th minute. Togo striker Olufade Adekanmi scored twice for Gent who came from behind to humble Mechelen 4-1. Cameroonian Aloys Nong had given Mechelen a 16th minute lead.

Senegalese midfielder Ousmane Ndoye scored the only goal for Academica Coimbra who were beaten 3-1 by Vitoria Setubal. Elsewhere, Angolan striker Ze Kalanga was sent-off as his side Boavista were massacred 6-1 by Benfica.

The South African striker Glen Salmon scored a late winning goal to secure all three points for Paok Saloniki in the lone goal triumph over Ergotelis. Rafik Djebbour is in fine form lately for his side Panionios. The Algerian scored one of the goals as Panionios fought from two goals down to beat Xanthi 3-2.

Cameroonian Herve Tum put his side Bursaspor in the lead four minutes before the break, but a last minute equaliser meant they shared the points with Manisaspor in the 1-1 draw.

Prolific Guinea striker Ismael Bangoura scored both goals for his side Dynamo Kyiv who defeat Shaktar Donetsk 2-1.

Also on target was Nigeria's Lucky Idahor who scored for Tavriya Symferopol in the 5th minute as his side strolled to a 4-1 win over Zakarpattia.