Marseille sunk by late Lyon winner
Sunday, May 8, 2011
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Olympique de Marseille's hopes of retaining their Ligue 1 crown were dealt a blow as they fell to a 3-2 loss at Olympique Lyonnais, Cris hitting a late winner to move the victors up to third.
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Olympique de Marseille suffered a major blow to their title defence as they succumbed to a 3-2 reverse at Olympique Lyonnais, the visitors losing out to a late Cris winner that leaves them four points behind leaders LOSC Lille Métropole.
At one point Marseille had looked ready to pull off a famous win, having shown real character to claw their way back from a two-goal deficit after Lisandro buried a 25th-minute penalty and César Delgado struck on 69 minutes. Lucho González registered almost immediately for the champions and Loïc Rémy then levelled from a corner eight minutes later, but it was Lyon defender Cris who sealed the result via an emphatic finish six minutes from time.
The victory moved Lyon ahead of Paris Saint-Germain FC into France's third and final UEFA Champions League qualifying spot, with Marseille another three points higher. In fifth, Stade Rennais FC's own hopes of a top-three finish were damaged by a 2-0 loss at Valenciennes FC. The Brittany side lie seven points shy of Lyon as a result.
