'Beautiful end' in sight for Marseille

Olympique de Marseille can lift the gloom caused by their French Cup final defeat on Saturday by earning a return to the UEFA Champions League.

Tense finish
Defeat for both RC Lens and FC Girondins de Bordeaux would guarantee a second-placed finish regardless of OM's result at AS Saint-Etienne and earn a return to Europe's premier club competition for the first time since 2003/04. The 1993 UEFA Champions League winners can also make sure of at least third place, and a third qualifying round spot, should they win and only one of Lens or Bordeaux do the same. Marseille, who lost the Coupe de France on penalties to FC Sochaux-Montbéliard last weekend, have 58 points with two games left, leading third-placed Lens, who entertain OGC Nice, and Bordeaux, who travel to Le Mans UC 72, by two points. The team finishing fourth will have to settle for a place in the UEFA Cup but one Marseille player has particular reason to avoid that scenario.

'Bounce back'
"I will try to lead my team into the Champions League because it is a competition I badly want to play in," said Djibril Cissé, part of the Liverpool FC team which famously overcame AC Milan in the 2005 final. The France forward struck twice against Sochaux at the Stade de France last Saturday but his performance was not sufficient to give Marseille their first trophy in 14 years. "I cannot be content with my double as the team did not win," he said. "Now, we must not let go because of this final we lost. We must bounce back to have a beautiful end to the season."

Fully focused
Two points behind Lens and Bordeaux, fifth-ranked Sochaux hope their cup success can propel them to steal one of the top three places. They go to neighbours AS Nancy-Lorraine, where Sochaux coach Alain Perrin worked with the youth team for ten years until 1993. "Since last Monday, my players have only been focused on the next game," said Perrin mindful his squad could have let their cup celebrations get in the way. Stade Rennais FC in sixth, and one point back, could also still have a say as they put a nine-game unbeaten run on the line when they play host to FC Lorient in the Brittany derby. Only champions Olympique Lyonnais can relax.