Leader Lyon could not take advantage of its nearest Ligue 1 rivals' inactivity as it was held to a goalless home draw by Valenciennes.
With second-placed Nice's game against Grenoble postponed because of a waterlogged pitch and Marseille, Rennes and Paris St Germain all playing on Sunday, Lyon had the chance to stretch its lead to eight points.
But the incessant, driving rain at Stade Gerland proved to be a leveller for VA, which was on the back foot for most of an understandably scrappy match but did not concede many real clear-cut chances to the hosts.
Nice hopes its postponed match against Grenoble will be played on Sunday.
The only other team in the top six to play on Saturday was Bordeaux, which was also held to a goalless draw at Sochaux.
Lille missed the chance to put itself in the heart of the Ligue 1 chasing pack as it was held 1-1 by Lorient.
Lille could have put itself level on points with third-placed Marseille and it got the perfect start when Michel Bastos opened the scoring after seven minutes, but defender Adil Rami scored an own goal 11 minutes before the break and Lorient came closest to winning the match when Morgan Amalfitano hit the post.
Nantes ended a run of six games without a win with victory, winning 2-0 at relegation rivals Le Havre.
Filip Djordjevic and substitute David De Freitas scored in the final 21 minutes to settle this clash of top-flight new boys and give Nantes the edge in the race to avoid an immediate return to the second tier.
Le Mans picked up a second win in three games after overcoming mid-table rivals Caen 2-0 at the Stade Leon Bollee.
A dominant performance was capped off by second-half goals from Modibo Maiga and Gervinho, as Yves Bertucci's side starts to look like it has overcome its recent slump.
Monaco moved three points above Auxerre with a fourth win in six matches thanks to a first-half goal from Croatian striker Nikola Pokrivac.
The result took Ricardo's men into 10th place in Ligue 1 and inflicted a second straight defeat on the Burgundy side after it lost to Caen last time out.
Auxerre 0
Monaco 1 (Pokrivac 24)
Le Havre 0
Nantes 2 (Djordjevic 68, De Freitas 85)
Le Mans 2 (Maiga 51, Gervinho 61)
Caen 0
Lille 1 (Bastos 8)
Lorient 1 (Rami 35og)
Lyon 0
Valenciennes 0
Nice
Grenoble postponed
Sochaux 0
Bordeaux 0