Marseille 2 Rennes 5: Gourcuff scores twice in emphatic away win
Yoann Gourcuff and Ousmane Dembele played starring roles as Rennes ran out comfortable winners at Marseille.
Rennes moved up to third place in the Ligue 1 table thanks to a comprehensive 5-2 victory over Marseille at the Stade Velodrome on Friday.
Yoann Gourcuff scored twice, while Ousmane Dembele grabbed one goal and set up another, to help Rolland Courbis' side record an impressive away result that leapfrogs them over Lyon and Nice in the standings.
Marseille - who remain stuck in 10th place - had drawn their last five Ligue 1 fixtures 1-1, yet found themselves three goals down inside 14 minutes.
Gourcuff opened the scoring by pouncing on a rebound inside the penalty area before Fallou Diagne popped up to double Rennes' lead, heading home a free-kick having been left completely unmarked at the back post.
Dembele benefited from a deflection to beat Steve Mandanda with a shot to make it 3-0, although Marseille did give themselves a glimmer of hope when Florian Thauvin curled home a left-footed strike from the right side of the penalty area.
The gap was cut down to one when Rolando punished a mistake from Benoit Costil in the 50th minute, the Rennes goalkeeper dropping a routine cross to allow the defender to prod into an empty net and make it 3-2.
However, the hosts conceded again just before the hour-mark.
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Gourcuff took aim from distance and his well-struck effort slipped underneath goalkeeper Mandanda to find the back of the net.
Giovanni Sio rounded out the scoring in the 77th minute, firing a shot across Mandanda after excellent work out wide by team-mate Dembele.