PARIS, March 8 -- Rennes stayed one-point ahead of Lille in the race for third place, and final Champions League spot, in Ligue 1 after overwhelming Montpellier 5-0 on Sunday.
Lille edged Lyon 1-0 at home on Sunday to keep the pressure on Rennes as former Chelsea striker Loic Remy scored the only goal of the game.
Rennes suffered a bitter 2-1 defeat to Saint-Etienne in the French Cup semifinal which shattered their hopes of retaining the trophy. But Julien Stephan's side restored their form in the league campaign.
Left-back Faitout Maouassa opened the scoring for Rennes within 10 minutes after kickoff at Roazhon Park before Adrien Hunou doubled the lead for the hosts in the 28th minute.
Flavien Tait added a third for Rennes in the 68th minute, before Romain Del Castillo and Hunou both converted penalties to close out the comfortable victory.
Elsewhere on Sunday, French Cup finalist Saint-Etienne continued their struggling form in the league as they were held 1-1 by Bordeaux at home.
Saint-Etienne are still relegation-threatened as they remained in the 17th place only three points above the relegation zone.
Runaway league leaders Paris Saint-Germain were scheduled to travel to Strasbourg to play their league game on Saturday evening, but the game was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.