Marseille master Monaco at home

The teams may have started the match with a friendly handshake but frayed tempers later on marred the match

Having knocked league leaders Bordeaux out of the French Cup on Wednesday night (2-0), the Red and Whites were clearly missing the injured Chu-Young Park. The Korean’s partnership with Brazilian Luis de Carvalho Nenê has been at the centre of the team’s string of victories, alongside the heroics of goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier.

However, Didier Deschamps’ men from Marseille looked the better side on all counts, working well off each other and creating numerous opportunities to score, although failing to finish. Ruffier showed why his international aspirations are well merited, his lightening-quick reactions fending off a rapid double attempt at goal by Ben Aarfa and Niang in the 54th minute.

The two winning goals were very unlucky for the ASMs, the first coming from a penalty awarded to Marseille after Monaco’s Cedric Mongongu came into light contact with Marseille’s captain Niang. It seemed a particularly harsh decision and Niang had no problem firing it past Ruffier, he was so close. The second was an own goal headed in by the hapless Nicolas Nkoulou who had had an excellent game up to that point.

Monaco’s frustrations spilled over in the first half which was marred by three minor scuffles, aggravated by an angry Sébastien Puygrenier. Alejandro Alonso (captain) saw the red card at the end after arguing with the referee in the dying minutes of the game to earn two yellow cards in quick succession.

In the other PACA (Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur) match, OGM Nice were unable to lift themselves up with a 2-1 defeat away against Valenciennes. The Red and Blacks had appeared to be playing better (even though they lost to Monaco 3-2 it was a good game), but although they were solid and less hesitant than in previous matches, they failed to create any opportunities and posed little threat to the home side.

The final positioning at the end of the 24th day of Ligue I and Marseille move closer to their hopes for European glory into 5th with 39 points, Monaco drop back to 7th, still on 39 points, and Nice stay at 17th on 23 points, albeit a comforting six points clear of the relegation zone. CL