Although perhaps not rivals by way of distance, Marseille and Lyon head up one of Ligue 1’s most historical rivalries. As you may expect in a game of such magnitude, the early stages were tetchy, but it was Marseille who began to flex their muscles midway through the first half and came tantalisingly close to taking the lead when Alexis Sánchez flashed an effort inches wide of the post.
Having had no European endeavours to attend to in midweek, you would be forgiven for expecting Lyon to be the fresher of the two sides, but as half time approached, it was probably them who looked the leggier, with Marseille shading the first 45 minutes.
The hosts then had something to show for their first half performance on the stroke of half time when Jordan Veretout’s expertly crafted corner found the head of Samuel Gigot who powered Marseille into the lead at the break.
With Laurent Blanc in the away dugout though, Lyon always had a chance of finding an equaliser, with Blanc losing just one of his 12 managerial encounters against Marseille as a coach prior to tonight.
It wasn’t to work out that way tonight though, as Lyon’s 200 visiting fans would be heading home empty handed and seven points behind Marseille in the table.
As for the hosts, a return to winning ways sees them close the gap on the UEFA Champions League spots with just one game left before the World Cup break.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jordan Veretout (Marseille)