France round-up: Nantes make Marseille pay

Olympique de Marseille began their French Ligue 1 campaign with a 2-0 defeat after being forced to play their home game against FC Nantes Atlantique in Lyon.

Unfamiliar territory
Playing on unfamiliar territory due to crowd trouble during last season's match against Paris Saint-Germain FC, Marseille, under new coach Alain Perrin, held the 2001 champions to 0-0 at half-time, but were over-run after the break.

Berson makes sure
Mario Yepes put Nantes ahead after heading home a Sylvain Armand cross, and they held on against the former European champions before clinching the victory in the closing seconds through Matheiu Berson. He rounded Marseille goalkeeper Vedran Runje to double the lead after receiving a Wilfried Dalmat ball from the right wing.

Monaco get four
AS Monaco FC are the 'leaders' of the nascent division courtesy of their 4-0 victory at ES Troyes Aube Champagne, who finished eight places ahead of the principality-based side last season. Shabani Nonda and Ludovic Giuly scored late in the first half for Monaco, with Nonda adding another on 65 minutes and Marcelo Gallardo completing the scoring late in the match.

Vintage Bordeaux
Lille OSC's revamped side were given food for thought by on-form FC Girondins de Bordeaux, who secured a 3-0 win at the Grimonprez-Jooris stadium. Having suffered the summer losses of coach Vahid Halilhodzic, midfield players Bruno Cheyrou and Dagui Bakari, and defender Pascal Cygan, LOSC went behind in the first half to a Pauleta strike, before conceding two more in the space of three second-half minutes to Alexei Smertin and Eduardo Costa.

Lens leave it late
Last season's runners-up RC Lens had to rely on an Antoine Sibierski penalty a quarter-of-an-hour from full time to earn a point at SC Bastia. The home side had seemed in with a chance of three points when Mickaël Essien put them ahead 61 minutes into the match, but Lens were able to peg them back. Both clubs had a player sent-off in the dying seconds - Abdoulaye Faye for Lens and Bastia's Florian Maurice.

Auxerre pay penalty
PSG, fourth in 2001/02, secured a 1-0 victory against the side that pipped them to a UEFA Champions League qualifying place, AJ Auxerre. The home team got the points thanks to José Alosio's 50th-minute penalty after Fabrice Fiorèse was fouled by Jean-Alain Boumsong, but they had to play the last ten minutes with ten men after Alex Nyarko was sent-off, although the numbers were levelled in stoppage time when Jean-Sébastien Jaurès of Auxerre was also made to walk - both red cards for second bookable offences.

Fauconnier decider
Le Havre AC were the only newly-promoted team to win, beating fellow top-flight newcomers OGC Nice 2-1 thanks to Olivier Fauconnier's 81st-minute decider for a team that played most of the second half with ten men when Souleymane Diawara was sent off, while the other ex-second division teams, RC Strasbourg and AJ Ajaccio drew 1-1.

Rennes disappointment
There were no goals in the match between CS Sedan-Ardennes and FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, and Stade Rennais FC's trip to Montpellier Hérault SC seemed to be going the same way until Franck Silvestre converted a last-minute penalty for the home team.