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. Redskins Jerseys Sale . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Geron Christian Jersey . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. http://www.cheapwashingtonredskinsjerseys.com/derrius-guice-jersey/ . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. Redskins Jerseys Hoodies . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. DaRon Payne Jersey . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that.Danny Mullins will miss the rest of the season as he will have to undergo an operation on the kneecap he damaged in a fall at Newbury on Saturday. The Irish jump jockey will have an operation on Tuesday which will keep him out of action for about 12 weeks.He fractured his kneecap in a fall from the wayward Dicosimo at the fourth flight in the Betfair Handicap Hurdle. Mullins was taken to hospital for a precautionary X-ray, before he flew back to Ireland and went to see leading sports surgeon Dr Tadhg OSullivan on Monday.OSullivan will perform the operation at Whitfield Clinic in Waterford.Hes having an operation on his kneecap tomorrow morning and will be out for 12 weeks. Its bad news, said Mullins agent, Ken Whelan.He saw the specialist who told him there was only one solution to it - hed hhave to have an operation.ddddddddddddIts 10 weeks to the Punchestown Festival, so it means hes going to miss the rest of the season.Mullins had been looking forward to returning for the Cheltenham Festival after enjoying a successful campaign that included a Grade One victory on Footpad at Leopardstown just a week before having an untimely tumble. Sky Tickets Racing Fast, secure racing tickets: Exclusive racing offers near you Also See: Live results service Full racecards Bet ￡5 Get ￡20 Free Get Sky Sports Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys Cheap Authentic Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Stitched NFL Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys ' ' '