Marseille slam seven past Zilina
442 Staff - Wednesday 03 November 2010, 23:50
ZILINA - Andre-Pierre Gignac
ended his goal drought in style, grabbing a hat-trick to power
Olympique Marseille to a record 7-0 Champions League away win at
Zilina on Wednesday.
The French team's resounding victory gives them a big
psychological boost going into their showdown at Spartak Moscow
in three weeks' time.
Both teams have six points from four games in Group F but
Marseille have a goal difference of plus-5 compared to Spartak's
minus-1.
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"We don't know what could happen after the Moscow game so
it's good to have such a goal difference," Marseille coach
Didier Deschamps told the Canal Plus TV channel.
Chelsea lead the group on 12 points but bottom club Zilina
have yet to pick up a point.
France striker Gignac, without a goal for a month, netted
twice before the break and once in the second half as Marseille
completely outclassed a weak Zilina side to beat the previous
record for an away win in the competition, 5-0 by a host of
clubs.
LIVE: Minute-by-minute coverage as it happened
Argentine playmaker Lucho Gonzalez also helped himself to
two second-half goals and Gabriel Heinze and Loic Remy completed
the rout.
LIVELY START
Ligue 1 champions Marseille made a lively start and were
rewarded in the 12th minute when Gignac deflected a Benoit
Cheyrou free kick into the net for his first Champions League
goal.
The visitors added a second after 21 minutes, Gignac
collecting a defence-splitting pass from Charles Kabore to slot
the ball past keeper Martin Dubravka.
Heinze put the result beyond doubt three minutes later by
heading home from a Cheyrou corner.
A clinical finish by Remy nine minutes before the break made
it 4-0 and Lucho joined the goal party after the interval.
Mathieu Valbuena chipped the ball to the far post for the
Argentine to head home in the 52nd minute and Gignac then
completed his treble with a header.
Lucho made it 7-0 when he powered into the box before firing
past the helpless Dubravka in the 63rd.
"They were better than us in all areas," said Zilina coach
Pavel Hapal.
"Marseille's players were faster, braver and produced better
combinations. My guys seemed to lack courage."