Rejuvenated striker Mario Balotelli took his league tally to eight goals in eight games as French leader Nice beat struggling Dijon 2-1 on Sunday to move four points ahead of Monaco and seven clear of defending champion Paris Saint-Germain.Regardless of what happens in the upcoming midweek games, Nice is guaranteed to head into the winter break in first place.Monaco could have closed the gap to one point, but it was reduced to 10 men in the first half and lost 3-1 at home to a rapidly improving Lyon on Sunday night.Lyon is now up to fourth place, five points behind PSG and with a game in hand.Monaco was under pressure after left back Benjamin Mendy was sent off in the 39th minute -- 10 minutes after Algeria midfielder Rachid Ghezzal had given Lyon the lead.Lyon winger Mathieu Valbuena is getting back to his best as he chases a France recall, having being left out of the European Championship squad this summer, and scored for the fifth time in the past six games to make it 2-0 in the 65th.Monaco rallied thanks to midfielder Tiemoue Bakayokos strike five minutes later, his teams 54th goal in just 18 league games. But Lyons top scorer, Alexandre Lacazette, wrapped up the win late on with his 12th league goal in just 13 games. In the previous two league campaigns, the prolific forward -- rated at around 45 million euros ($47 million) -- scored 48 in 67 games.PSG had lost 2-1 at Guingamp on Saturday for its fourth league defeat of the season and still has to play at Nice in the second part of the campaign.Nice has lost only once this season under Lucien Favre in his first season in charge.The Swiss coach should also take credit for helping to relaunch Balotellis career when many observers had written him off.Balotelli scored from a penalty kick in the 32nd minute and, after Julio Tavares equalized from the spot shortly after, pounced five minutes after halftime for the winner.The Italian forward joined in the summer as a free signing from English Premier League side Liverpool, and is reviving a chaotic career where he has often stood out for controversial incidents on and off the field.His unhappy time at Liverpool came to end when the English club sent him on loan last season to AC Milan -- his former club -- but he only managed one goal in 20 league games for the Italian side.The season before that, Balotelli had scored only one league goal for Liverpool in 16 games.But now, despite an occasional absence through minor injuries, he is a key part of Favres plans.Balotelli struck his penalty low to the left, with goalkeeper Baptiste Reynet guessing the right way, and then turned in defender Arnaud Souquets cross from the right.---MARSEILLE 2, LILLE 0Coach Rudi Garcias methods seem to finally be working as Marseille won for the third league game in a row to climb up to sixth place.Striker Bafetimbi Gomis opened the scoring in the 56th minute and winger Florian Thauvin added the other four minutes later.They have been Marseilles most consistent players this season and have 14 league goals between them: nine for Gomis and five for Thauvin.Garcia took charge in late October, replacing Franck Passi, but won only two of his first seven games in all competitions.---CAEN 3, METZ 0Croatian striker Ivan Santini scored his eighth league goal of the season as Normandy side Caen moved two points away from the relegation zone.Caen took the lead through 18-year-old striker Yann Karamoh in the 20th minute.Santini netted in the 61st before substitute forward Pape Sane sealed the win in injury time.Caen is in 16th place, while Dijon is 18th. Air Max 97 Womens . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Nike Air Max 97 Womens Silver . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. http://www.max97australiacheap.com/ . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Nike Air Max 97 Womens White . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. Wholesale Air Max 97 . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. TORONTO -- The fastest team made a fast, strong first impression at the World Cup of Hockey.With blazing speed and uncontainable skill, Team North America skated circles around Finland on the way to a 4-1 victory Sunday night at the World Cup of Hockey.Led by goals from Jack Eichel, Johnny Gaudreau, Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon, the group of 23-and-under Americans and Canadians toyed with a proud Finnish national team that has the most Olympic medals since NHL players began participating.Were here to play, Gaudreau said. Hopefully, teams dont take us lightly. I think were a fast, speed, skilled team, and hopefully we can keep proving [to] people [that] we belong here.North America doesnt just belong in the elite tournament full of almost 200 of the best players in the world. It might be one of the most skilled from top to bottom. Four of the past five No. 1 picks were at their best Saturday night, offensively and defensively. Playing his first of what should be many games at his new home arena with the Toronto Maple Leafs, No. 1 pick Auston Matthews had an assist and showed he was ready to face NHL competition.I thought he was going to have a helluva game, and he did, coach Todd McLellan said. There was no fear of playing.Captain Connor McDavid, the 2015 No. 1 pick of the Edmonton Oilers, also had an assist and several nifty moves that confounded Finnish defenders.Much like Team Europe, a collection of players from eight European countries, North America made a great first impression after plenty of criticism about being a gimmick. North Americas blazing fast play in exhibition games made it the most intriguing part of the World Cup, and that fascination is only stronger now that it showed it can thrive when it counts.Just because were younger doesnt mean that were not as good or something like that, McDavid said. Its just we have a little bit less experience.Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Matt Murray made 24 saves but mostly had an easy night as North America outshot Finland 43-25, includingg an 18-6 domination in the second period.ddddddddddddThe second period was a cold shower for us, Finland coach Lauri Marjamaki said. They got better, they won every battle, they skate hard, they are so aggressive. ... such a great team.Pekka Rinne made 39 saves for Finland and struggled at times but also kept the game from turning into even more of a blowout.Goals came in every possible way: Eichels greasy rebound at the side of the net, Gaudreaus jumping, spinning deflection, Drouins toe drag and MacKinnons backhand-forehand move after he beat everyone else to the puck. North Americas apt goal song, Opposite of Adults, blared on the Air Canada Centre speakers all night.I think all four lines really brought something tonight, and everybody was out there kind of doing their part, Matthews said. We were utilizing our strengths, and I think we put them on their heels.Sometimes the pace was so quick that Gaudreau said players stood up on the bench in anticipation of the next fancy move. North America owned the puck against Finland, which had nine players back from the bronze-medal team in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.They really took it to us and showed their individual skill, but also as a team, they were extremely dangerous, Rinne said. Im not going to take anything away from them, but we werent ready to go. We made too many mistakes. We werent skating. That was the result.Valtteri Filppula scored the only goal for Finland late in the third period after the result was decided. McLellan said the lapse was a good teaching moment for his team and will help as the World Cup goes on.Russia is up next on Monday after a 2-1 loss to Sweden earlier Sunday. Despite Russia losing and North America winning, McDavid doesnt see his team as the favorite in the game.Russias a hockey giant, and theyre one of the best hockey nations in the world, McDavid said. Its going to be a good test for us. 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