■ FRANCE
Marseille win to go second
Olympique Marseille moved just one point behind Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyon with a 3-1 win at struggling Valenciennes on Sunday. Ivory Coast striker Bakary Kone opened the scoring with a header on 13 minutes, following up after an effort by Mathieu Valbuena bounced off the crossbar. France forward Hatem Ben Arfa raced into the box and skipped past Valenciennes keeper Nicolas Penneteau to double the advantage with 17 minutes left. Valenciennes, who were under pressure throughout the match, managed to pull one back through striker Gregory Pujol following a swift counterattack, before substitute midfielder Charles Kabore sealed Marseille’s win in added time. Marseille, the only undefeated side after nine games, climb to second place on 19 points, one point behind seven-times champions Lyon, who were held to a 2-2 home draw by Lille on Saturday. Surprise package Le Mans moved into third, two further points adrift, with a 2-0 home win over lowly Nancy on Sunday. Nancy midfielder Pascal Berenguer put Le Mans ahead against the run of play when he deflected a corner into his own net on 33 minutes. Belgian forward Roland Lamah wrapped up the win from close range on 65 minutes.
■ GREECE
Olympiakos extend lead
Luciano Galletti scored two goals on Sunday to lead Olympiakos to a 2-0 win over newly promoted Panthrakikos to extend their lead in the Greek league. The defending champions have 16 points from six games, four ahead of PAOK, who drew 0-0 at home with Panathinaikos. Panathinaikos are in fifth place with 10 points, but have a game in hand. Galletti scored with a powerful shot from the edge of the area in the 64th minute soon after he had missed a penalty. He made it 2-0 from a free-kick in the 72nd minute. Also on Sunday, it was AEK Athens 1, Larissa 1; Levadiakos 0, Xanthi 0; and OFI 1, Thrasivoulos 3. Olympiakos controlled play from the kick-off, but the defending champions had to wait until the 31st minute for their first scoring chance, Giorgos Galitsios’ powerful shot being saved by goalkeeper Jose Manuel Roca. Panthrakikos, who are playing in the top flight for the first time in their 45-year history, came close to scoring in the 41st minute when a shot by Abdul Diallo forced goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis to punch the ball away.
■ DENMARK
OB Odense win, stay top
Djiby Fall scored two late goals on Sunday to give leaders OB Odense a 4-2 win over last-place Esbjerg in the Danish league. Fall dribbled past several defenders before scoring with a long-range shot in the 84th minute. Two minutes into injury time, he found the net again after goalkeeper Lars Winde failed to control a shot by Johan Absalonsen. However, Esbjerg took the lead in the third minute through Soren Rieks, until defender Alexander Ostlund scored an own-goal in the 21st minute. Bjorn Runstrom gave Odense the lead in the 23d minute, but Jesper Bech equalized in the 37th minute for Esbjerg. It was the eighth win this season for Odense, who stayed top of the standings with 24 points, one ahead of FC Copenhagen, who beat Horsens 1-0 on Saturday after a 51st-minute goal by defender Zdenek Pospech. Brondby stayed third place after a 2-2 draw with Sonderjyske on Sunday, and Randers drew 1-1 with Vejle. Defending champions Aalborg lost 2-1 to FC Nordsjalland on Saturday and remain 11th in the 12-team league.
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