Paris (AFP)
Nice inflicted its first defeat on its second host, Marseille, since October 22, by defeating it in its own home 3-1 in the twenty-second stage of the French Football League.
Marseille entered the match on the back of seven victories in the last eight stages and without defeat for nine consecutive stages, but Nice overtook it in its stronghold and inflicted its first defeat since stage 12, when it fell to Lens 0-1 at home as well.
And with its fourth defeat of the season, Marseille’s balance froze at 46 points in second place, 8 points behind its rivals, Paris Saint-Germain, the leaders, with whom it faces Wednesday in the final price of the cup competition, and at the same distance from Lens III, which tied Sunday with its host Brest 1-1.
As for Nice, it raised its score to 34 points in eighth place.
The Croatian coach of Marseille, Igor Tudor, began the meeting with the participation of the Portuguese newcomer, Vitinia, who became the most expensive deal in the history of the Mediterranean club after his arrival from Braga, in a deal estimated at 32 million, including bonuses.
On the other hand, the other newcomer, Moroccan Ezzedine Onahi, remained on the bench, next to Chilean Alexis Sanchez, after he made a perfect start with his new team, as he scored a beautiful goal in his first appearance on Wednesday, when he entered as a substitute in beating Nantes 2-0 in the previous stage. .
Marseille’s start was not ideal, as he found himself lagging behind in the 38th minute, when Gaetan Laborde hit a ball from nearly 20 meters, and Spanish goalkeeper Bao Lopes blocked it, but it fell in front of Sofiane Diop, who followed it into the net.
Then the surprise was completed when Nice added the second goal before the end of the first half through Laborde, who was in turn this time in the right place to follow the ball into the net, after Lopes blocked a shot by Kevrin Thuram (44).
But Marseille returned to the match thanks to the newcomer, Ukrainian substitute Ruslan Malinowski, as the latter narrowed the difference in the 60th minute, after a pass from Alexis Sanchez, who entered the field with the former Italian player Atalanta, after the halftime break at the expense of Vitinia and Dimitri Payet, respectively.
But Nice dealt the final blow to its host and confirmed its first victory in the “Velodrome Stadium” since November 8, 2015, by scoring the third goal through Algerian substitute Bilal Brahimi, with a beautiful shot from the outskirts of the area into the corner, out of reach of Lopes, after a pass from Antoine Mendy (85).
#Marseille #tasted #bitterness #defeat #days