Utaka: Match-winner for Montpellier

A brace by John Utaka was sufficient to hand the Mediterranean club the crown ahead of big-spending Paris Saint-Germain, whose 2-1 win at Lorient was rendered academic.

Montpellier began the day three points clear of PSG at the summit, but they were made to sweat before securing the title as trouble in the stands twice forced the suspension of their match at Auxerre.

After Utaka's first goal of the night had cancelled out Olivier Kapo's 20th-minute opener for the hosts, the action was first halted early in the second half after some home fans expressed their annoyance at their recent relegation by littering the pitch with tennis balls, tomatoes and toilet paper.

Order was quickly restored, but around 20 minutes from full-time the action was halted again for several minutes after fans reportedly released smoke bombs.

When play was finally able to get under way once again, Montpellier took the lead for good in the 76th minute when Utaka turned in the area and fired home to spark scenes of jubilation among the travelling faithful.

Second-placed PSG had earlier seen their match at Lorient suspended for four minutes during the first half after some of their fans threw smoke bombs, forcing the players from the pitch while the smoke cleared.

At the time of the stoppage PSG were trailing 1-0 to a Kevin Monnet-Paquet strike after 28 minutes, but the capital club made sure of the win with second-half goals by Javier Pastore and Thiago Motto.