In a crucial Ligue 1 clash, 2nd-placed Marseille missed a golden opportunity to close the gap to PSG after the Parisian side drew with Reims on Saturday. Instead, the Marseillais lost 2-0 to Nice (4th) in their last match of the 19th day.
This PSG draw at the Parc des Princes finally allowed Luis Enrique’s team to increase their lead over Marseille, going from nine to ten points.
Nice dominated the match from the start, with a goal from Evann Guessand opening the scoring after just seven minutes, scoring his ninth goal of the season. The home team doubled their lead in the 51st minute thanks to Mohamed Ali Cho.
Marseille’s recent form is causing concern as the team is going through a difficult period when they were expected to step up their hunt for PSG. The last victory was on January 11, when Marseille won a 2-1 match against Rennes. Since then, the team has been knocked out of the Coupe de France by Lille, drawn at home to Strasbourg, and now suffers this disappointing defeat at the Allianz Riviera.
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Marseille’s Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi bluntly acknowledged the team’s struggles, saying: “We didn’t play well, and it’s a deserved defeat. It can happen; Ligue 1 is a tough competition and we can lose. Nice is also a good team.”
Nice’s victory intensifies the fight for places in the Champions League. The Niçois remain undefeated at home and are only one point behind Monaco (3rd), while reducing the gap to four points with their Sunday rivals.
-Earlier in the day, Brest recorded a decisive 1-0 victory over Le Havre, setting them up for their Champions League clash against Kylian Mbappé’s Real Madrid on Wednesday. Ludovic Ajorque scored the only goal in the 25th minute, scoring his seventh in the league and leading Brest to their third consecutive Ligue 1 victory.
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Currently in 13th position in the Champions League standings, one point ahead of Real Madrid (16th), Brest is enjoying a successful period, having won four of its last five league matches, moving closer to the European places in eighth position.
Another French club, Lyon, who compete in the Europa League, continued their winless streak in Ligue 1, drawing 1-1 against Nantes. Under increasing pressure, Pierre Sage’s team remains sixth with 30 points.
Meanwhile, Montpellier left bottom of the table with a second consecutive victory, winning 2-1 against Toulouse, who had initially opened the scoring thanks to Venezuelan midfielder Cristian Cásseres. The new last in the ranking is Le Havre.
