Marseille routed Valenciennes 5-1 in the French league on Sunday to
get back in the race for a European spot.
Earlier, Saint-Etienne beat Monaco 3-0 to move clear of the
relegation zone and 10-man Lyon salvaged a point at Toulouse with a
goalless draw.
Bordeaux still tops the standings with 48 points from 23
matches. But the defending champion had its lead cut to three
points Saturday after it lost 4-2 to Rennes and Montpellier beat
Boulogne 2-0 to consolidate second place and increase the pressure
on the league leader.
In Marseille, Hatem Ben Arfa played Lucho Gonzalez in with a
backheel pass and the Argentine midfielder scored from six yards
(meters) in the 34th minute.
Then Nigeria fullback Taye Taiwo hoisted the ball into the
box and Gonzalez knocked it down for Brandao, who took a touch and
spun to flick home in the 43rd minute.
Benoit Cheyrou made it 3-0 in the 53rd with a drive from the
edge of the box that deflected off a defender's leg to beat
goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau.
Colombian midfielder Carlos Sanchez pulled a goal back for
Valenciennes in the 66th, outjumping the Marseille defense to head
in a corner kick.
But Mathieu Valbuena added a fourth goal for Marseille in the
77th. Senegal striker Mamadou Niang sent in a high cross from the
left flank that Vitorino Hilton laid off for Valbuena, who placed
the ball out of the goalkeeper's reach from 20 yards (meters).
Niang rounded up the scoring in extra time, burying a low
cross from Souleymane Diawara and taking his tally to 10 goals this
season.
"We have to keep it going," Marseille coach Didier Deschamps
told Canal Plus television. "We still have many matches to play.
We're in the middle of a long stretch: February and March. Let's
collect the maximum number of points. Then we'll see at the
beginning of April if we can play a role in the final sprint."
Marseille climbed to fifth place with 39 points while
Valenciennes remained in the middle of the table with 32.
In Saint-Etienne, Dimitri Payet set up Blaise Matuidi, who
fired into the top corner in the 15th. Argentine forward Gonzalo
Bergessio doubled the lead with an angled strike under the crossbar
in the 75th before Emmanuel Riviere sealed the win in stoppage time
with a curling shot.
The result ended Monaco's four-game winning streak in the
league and allowed Saint-Etienne to move up to 16th place with 23
points, seven above the drop zone.
"It's a nice performance," Saint-Etienne coach Christophe
Galtier said, "We defeated a good team that was riding the momentum
of a nine-game unbeaten run (in all competitions)."
Monaco slipped to sixth place, level on points with
Marseille.
In Toulouse, Lyon earned a point but missed an opportunity to
take third place, staying in fourth with 40 points, one behind
Lille.
Mid-table Toulouse dominated the match but couldn't convert
its chances. Andre-Pierre Gignac's header crashed against the post
in the 36th.
In the second half, Brazilian midfielder Luan skipped past
the Lyon defence and was clean through on goal in the 49th but his
chip was off target.
Lyon was reduced to 10 men in the 67th when Cameroon
midfielder Jean Makoun was sent off after receiving a second yellow
card.
"We faced a very good Toulouse side that created many
chances," Lyon midfielder Maxime Gonalons told the club's Web site.
"We didn't concede, and that's a positive. We were down to 10 men,
so earning a point here is a good result."
On Saturday, it was: Nice 1, Lille 1; Grenoble 5, Auxerre 0;
Paris Saint-Germain 0, Lorient 3; Sochaux 1, Nancy 1; and Lens 2,
Le Mans 1.
