Marseille end slump with Strasbourg win
PARIS: Marseille ended a four-match winless streak in Ligue 1 after Boubacar Kamara’s early strike and a late Kevin Strootman penalty saw them to a deserved victory over Strasbourg.
Kamara, 19, struck the opener with just two minutes on the clock when his shot was deflected home by Strasbourg defender Ludovic Ajoruqe, and Strootman finished off with a calm spot-kick deep in stoppage time after Dario Benedetto was brought down by Mohamed Simakan.
The win sends Andre Villas Boas’ inconsistent side fourth, one point off the Champions League places, while Strasbroug drop to the bottom of the
league after a performance that offered little.
However, Marseille are still eight points behind leaders Paris St Germain, who swatted Nice aside 4-1 on Friday.
Marseille and bitter rivals PSG meet next weekend but Villas-Boas played down the significance of the fixture.
“It will be a totally different match, against a team that is not in the same league,” he said.
“We will play the match for the match, but it is not a game that matters too much for me.”
The hosts could have easily won by more, striking the woodwork either side of half-time through Duje CaletaCar and Nemanja Radonjic.
Benedetto also wasted a decent opportunity in the 56th minute with Marseille still just a goal up when he failed to get a contact on Maxine Lopez’s cross, but in the end it mattered little.
Wissam Ben Yedder fired Monaco out of the Ligue 1 mire with a stoppage time winner that earned an entertaining 3-2 win over Rennes. — AFP