Marseille Beat Monaco To Close In On PSG

By Daily sports on December 13, 2020

Marseille climbed to second in Ligue 1 on Saturday after scoring twice in the first 13 minutes and resisting late pressure to beat Monaco 2-1.

Marseille slumped out of Europe on Wednesday after a disastrous Champions League campaign which ended with a defeat at Manchester City, but this was their sixth straight Ligue 1 victory.

With coach Andre Villas-Boas absent, suspended after receiving a red card on the bench in the game against Nimes last Friday, Marseille pounced on two early turnovers by Monaco.

“The guys were extremely tired and we came home from Manchester at 4:30 in the morning,” said the Marseille coach.

“Emotionally, it was very hard with the end of the European adventure. So to give a performance like that, I say bravo to the team.”

After Monaco gave the ball away on the edge of their box in the fifth minute, Dario Benedetto burst down the left edge of the penalty area and chipped the ball to the far post where Florian Thauvin headed in.

Eight minutes later, after Marseille won the ball back in the Monaco half, Thauvin returned the favour. He swung in a left-foot cross from the right which Argentine Benedetto, running in unmarked, volleyed home.

As Monaco pressed in the second half, Thauvin dropped into his own penalty and conceded a 78th minute penalty with a dangerous high challenge on Wissam Ben Yedder.

Ben Yedder sent Steve Mandanda the wrong way from the spot kick, but the Marseille goalkeeper dealt serenely with Monaco’s desperate attempts in the closing minutes.

“The first period was very good. We controlled the ball,” said Villas Boas. “In the second half, everyone saw that fatigue set in and we were in more trouble.”

Monaco coach Niko Kovac lamented an early miss by Ben Yedder and the mistakes that led to the Marseille goals.

“We gave away some soft balls and that set up two shots and two goals,” said Kovac.

“We dominated the second half, they defended, we tried everything.”

In the late game, Montpellier also raced into an early two-goal lead but had to quell a Lens fightback.

Stephy Mavididi headed Montpellier ahead after 16 minutes. Pedro Mendes buried a rebound 10 minutes later.

The home team fought back helped by an own goal by Montpellier goalkeeper Jonas Omlin before half time. They levelled in the 50th minute with Gael Kakuta’s fifth league penalty of the season.

Gaetan Laborde nodded the Montpellier winner in the 69th minute. They climbed to fifth.

Marseille leapfrogged Lille and Lyon to move into second, one-point behind Paris Saint-Germain.

On Sunday, PSG entertain Lyon after Lille host Bordeaux, but Marseille will end the weekend with two games in hand on all three. (AFP)

•PHOTO: Marseille players 

 

Source Daily sports

Posted December 13, 2020


 

You may also like...
Afcon 2017: Ivory Coast 'lucky' to qualify -...

Rodgers Urges Leicester To ‘Make History’ With FA...

VAR Denies Iheanacho, Leicester City’s Title Hopes Suffer...

Why ‘Little Ronaldo’ Olawale Turned Down Borussia Dortmund...

Former Uruguay Striker Forlan Announces Retirement

Bundesliga Ready To Return On May 9

 

Latest News CAF awards: Ajibade, Nnadozie, Edo Queens bag nominations Lagos SWAN, PAACC Hold SWAN Day At Golfview Hotels, Ikeja Crisis looms as Eagles’ form raises AFCON, W’Cup concerns Ex-Nigerian Super Falcons player handcuffed, children assaulted as police storm Anambra Football Academy Sports NFF, teammates console Nwabali on father’s death Abia Govt hails Nigeria Olympic Committee over staging an admin course in Umuahia Libya deliver Eagles 2025 AFCON ticket Eagles battle Cheetahs for 2025 AFCON ticket Yellow Greens gear up for T20 W’Cup qualifiers Tyson tips Fury to beat Joshua Sadiq absent as 22 Eagles train in Abidjan Eagles’ striking trio hot for Cheetahs, Amavubi clashes

 

Most Read Rangers International going, going . . . (55,164 views) Amaju Pinnick: A cat with nine lives (46,308 views) Second Term: Amaju Pinnick, Other NFF Heavyweights Home to Roost •How Pinnick Broke the Jinx (44,370 views) Missing $150,000 IAAF Grant: Solomon Dalung’s Hide and Seek game (44,015 views) Sports Development: Zenith Bank on the zenith (43,948 views) Current issues in Nigerian sports: Matters arising (43,904 views) Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s solid footprints, commitment to sports development in Kano State (43,743 views) NFF Presidency: Pinnick, Maigari, Ogunjobi, Okoye in Battle for Supremacy (43,312 views) Olopade, BET9A wave of revolution in NNL (42,366 views) Commonwealth Games 2018: Shame of Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung (41,054 views) Ibrahimovic’s Man U exit: Whose decision is it? And in whose interest? (39,507 views) John Mikel Obi: Segun Odegbami’s Outrageous Call! (38,932 views)

 

Phone numbers

Tel: +234(0)8066020976
+234(0)8055068145
+234(0)7013416146
+234(0)8094272884

Email addresses

info@dailysportsng.com
support@dailysportsng.com
publisher@dailysportsng.com

Office address

No 3, Adetoun Close, Off College Road, Ogba, Ikeja Lagos.
Website: www.dailysportsng.com

Social Media