Rampant Marseille climb to second with dominant victory
ByReuters
Updated 06/03/2015 at 22:31 GMT
Olympique de Marseille climbed above Paris St Germain into second-place in Ligue 1 with an emphatic 6-1 victory at struggling Toulouse on Friday to reignite their title challenge.
Olympique Marseille's Andre Ayew (L) celebrates with teammates after scoring against Stade de Reims during their French Ligue 1 soccer match at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, February 13, 2015 (Reuters)
Image credit: Reuters
Marseille had not registered a league victory since Jan. 31 as their title push faltered but the visitors were 3-0 up after 20 minutes and 4-0 up at the break in a rampant first half display.
Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi fired Marseille into a second minute lead with a superb long-range strike before Baptiste Aloe doubled their advantage after he converted Benjamin Mendy's shot in the sixth minute.
Toulouse's Francois Moubandje turned Andre Ayew's dangerous low cross into his own net under pressure from Lucas Ocampos in the 20th minute before Batshuayi added his second with a simple finish seconds before halftime.
The hosts improved after the break and pulled back a goal in the 76th minute when Wissam Ben Yedder's low shot beat Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda.
The four-goal lead was restored two minutes later, however, when the lively Ayew slotted home from a suspiciously offside position.
Andre-Pierre Gignac completed the rout in the 89th minute to compound a miserable night for Toulouse with a low strike in to the corner -- his 16th Ligue 1 goal of a prolific season.
Marseille lead third-placed PSG, who host Racing Lens on Saturday, on goal difference and trail leaders Olympique Lyon, who visit Montpellier HSC on Sunday, by a point.
Toulouse remain 18th, two points adrift of FC Lorient in 17th and seven points clear of bottom-placed clubs Racing Lens and Metz.
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