Paris, March 22 (IANS): Ligue 1 front-runners Lyon were stunned 1-2 by struggling Nice at home as the visitors were reduced to 10 men for more than half an hour.

Saturday's defeat leaves Hubert Fournier's side in second place, a point behind defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, who claimed a comfortable 3-1 victory over Lorient to go top of the league with just eight rounds remaining, reports Xinhua.

Brazil midfielder Carlos Eduardo opened the scoring for Nice with an overhead kick (23rd minute) before Maxime Gonalons equalised from the spot 11 minutes into the second half.

Lloyd Palun was sent off (56th) with a second yellow after bringing down Nabil Fekir in the area. Lyon skipper Gonalons stepped up to strike the penalty into the net with regular penalty taker Alexandre Lacazette absent.

Reduced to 10 men, Nice played tough against the home side in the remaining 34 minutes before a late Valentin Eysseric penalty gave the visitors the victory. Bakary Kone was penalised for a clumsy challenge on Plea in the box and Eysseric sent Lyon keeper Anthony Lopes the wrong way.

This was the first win for Nice in eight matches since beating Marseille in January.

Bordeaux was the other big name beaten by a lower side as the sixth-ranked former champions suffered a 1-2 defeat at Toulouse, who are inside the relegation zone.

Another struggling team Evian took a 1-0 victory over Montpellier as other Ligue 1 encounters ended in goalless draws, namely the games between Bastia and Guingamp, Caen hosting Metz and that of Rennes-Nantes.