French League: Nice beat Marseille 2-0© Agence France-Presse
Marseille fell 10 points behind Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain after losing 2-0 to Champions League hopefuls Nice on Sunday. Roberto De Zerbe’s side had the chance to close the gap on Paris Saint-Germain after the defending champions drew 1-1 with Reims on Saturday. But Nice recovered from its defeat against Lille last weekend to move to fourth place, just four points behind second-placed Marseille. Marseille coach De Zerbe said: “It is a difficult tournament in which Lille, Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon dropped points this weekend.”
He added, “And we are also facing a good team… I’m not angry, I’m a little disappointed. When we lose, we all lose, me first. It can happen, we are not an invincible team.”
Ivan Guisand took the lead for Nice in the seventh minute after taking advantage of a mistake by Lilian Brasier before putting the ball over the onrushing Marseille goalkeeper Jeronimo Rulli.
Brassier chose not to slide in an attempt to atone for his mistake and clear the ball, instead only managing to stop it behind the goal line.
Nice doubled their lead shortly after the end of the first half when Gissand passed the ball to Muhammad Ali Chow, who took a good first touch and fired a low shot into the far corner.
Adrien Rabiot had a shot blocked by goalkeeper Marcin Bulka a short time later, but despite their possession of the ball, Marseille struggled to create many clear chances.
Earlier on Sunday, Lyon’s top-four hopes were dealt a blow when Mostafa Mohamed scored a 90th-minute equalizer to give struggling Nantes a 1-1 draw at Stade La Beaujoire.
Lens rose to seventh place in the standings, behind Lyon on goal difference, after defeating Angers 1-0.
Ludovic Ajurc’s early goal gave Brest a 1-0 win over Le Havre, the Breton club’s fourth win in five Ligue 1 matches.
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