Marseille clinched its ninth league title by beating Rennes 3-1 on
Wednesday, moving within one of the French record.
Gabriel Heinze, Mamadou Niang and Lucho Gonzalez scored for
Marseille, which only trails Saint-Etienne in French titles.
"We've worked hard the whole season," Niang told Canal Plus
television. "It wasn't easy. There were bad times and there were
good times. But in the end it's bliss."
Heinze curled in a free kick in the third minute, but Rennes
forward Jimmy Briand headed in a cross from Jerome Leroy to
equalize in the 38th.
Niang tapped into an empty net in the 76th, and Gonzalez beat
goalkeepeer Nicolas Douchez from the edge of the area one minute
later as Marseille's fans celebrated the title at its home ground
of Stade Velodrome.
After the final whistle blew, Marseille's players celebrated
on the pitch with the stadium's speakers blasting "We Are The
Champions" by British rock band Queen.
Marseille tops the standings with an unbeatable 75 points,
eight more than Lille and Auxerre. Lyon is fourth with 65 points.
There are two rounds remaining.
Marseille doesn't have Lille's potent attack or Auxerre's
tight defense but the team won the title because it contained the
best balance - combining the second best offense with the second
tightest defense. It also had the most wins and the fewest losses.
"Marseille can really be a great European club," winger Hatem
Ben Arfa said. "We mustn't stop here. I believe this club could
climb very high with time."
Marseille owed its title to a strong finish.
At the end of January, Marseille was trailing then leader
Bordeaux by 12 points after a 2-0 loss at Montpellier and it took a
pep talk from coach Didier Deschamps to turn things round.
Marseille has been undefeated in the league ever since.
"We spoke our minds for 20 minutes after a loss at
Montpellier," said Deschamps, whose team now leads Bordeaux by 14
points.
Another key moment was Marseille's elimination from the
Europa League in March. Marseille beat Lyon 2-1 three days after
losing 2-1 to Benfica in the last 16 of the European club
football's second-tier competition.
"We managed to bounce back by beating Lyon, which was then a
direct rival," Deschamps said. "Besides the victory over Lyon, and
maybe I shouldn't say it, but it's the elimination from the Europa
League by Benfica that has allowed us to be where we are today.
"If we had continued our European run and played on Thurdays
and Sundays, I'm sure we wouldn't be where we are today because you
inevitably waste a lot of energy."
The loss to Benfica was followed by a seven-game league
winning streak to take the team to the top of the standings.
"By winning the League Cup, nobody would again mention those
17 years without a title," Deschamps said. "Even though it's just
the League Cup, it gave a lot of confidence (to the team). We took
a lot out of that match because we were facing the best Bordeaux
lineup, while I think Bordeaux lost a lot of energy in that final."
The result deeply affected Bordeaux, which was then one of
Marseille's rivals for the title. Bordeaux started a six-game
league winless streak to drop out of contention.
Last season, Bordeaux won the title with 80 points and
Marseille finished second with 77 points.
"I had the luck to win the title last year with Bordeaux,"
Marseille defender Souleymane Diawara said. "I came to Marseille
this season and I have again the luck to win another title.
"There were a lot of people who thought that I made a mistake
by coming here. I showed them that I was not wrong. I'm happy."
Also Wednesday, it was: Lyon 2, Auxerre 1; Toulouse 0, Lille
2; Nice 1, Bordeaux 1; Sochaux 0, Montpellier 1; Lorient 2, Monaco
2; Paris Saint-Germain 2, Valenciennes 2; Nancy 3, Le Mans 2; Lens
1, Grenoble 1 and Boulogne 0, Saint-Etienne 1.
Saint-Etienne secured safety while Le Mans and Boulogne were
relegated to the second division.
