Marseille fifth after mauling Valenciennes
Reuters - Sunday 07 February 2010, 22:32
PARIS - Olympique Marseille thrashed
Valenciennes 5-1 on Sunday to push the team managed by Didier
Deschamps to fifth place in Ligue 1.
Brazil's Brandao, Argentine Lucho Gonzalez, Senegal's
Mamadou Niang and Frenchmen Benoit Cheyrou and Mathieu Valbuena
scored for Marseille, giving the team their most emphatic home
victory of the season.
The result lifted Marseille to 39 points, just one adrift of
fourth-placed Olympique Lyon, but with a game in hand.
Lyon were reduced to 10 men in their match against Toulouse
after Jean Makoun was sent off in the 68th minute for a second
yellow card, but they managed to secure a point with a 0-0 draw.
Saint-Etienne, meanwhile, ended Monaco's four-game winning
streak with a decisive 3-0 home win on Sunday.
Sixth-placed Monaco, unbeaten in Ligue 1 since December 16, had
no answer to the pressure from Saint Etienne, who had not won at
home in the championship since October.
Goals by Blaise Matuidi in the 13th minute, Argentine
striker Gonzalo Ruben Bergessio a quarter of an hour from the
end and Emmanuel Riviere just before the finish lifted St
Etienne to 16th place in the table.
At the end of the 23rd round, Girondins Bordeaux still lead
the Ligue with 48 points despite their 4-2 loss to Stade Rennes
on Saturday, three points ahead of Montpellier who cut the gap
at the top with their 2-0 victory over Boulogne-sur-Mer.