Brazilian striker Brandao scored with a header in the first half to help Marseille beat Lille 1-0 on Sunday and join Bordeaux and Nancy at the top of Ligue 1.
Brandao was left alone to head home a corner from Hatem Ben Arfa after 11 minutes to give Marseille coach Didier Deschamps the perfect start with six points from the opening two matches.
Marseille are the only team not to concede a goal after the opening two games of the season, a sign that Deschamps is succeeding in his bid to make Marseille more competitive and tougher to score against than last season.
PHOTO: AFP
“We won tonight, but we could have scored more goals if we had applied ourselves better,” Deschamps said.
“We’ve got a new team with quite a few changes. There’s still some work to do, but the team spirit is there,” he said.
Marseille finished last season in second place, three points behind Bordeaux, but they dropped vital points at home.
Lille defender Mathieu Debuchy was sent off in the 64th minute for a second yellow card after holding back striker Mamadou Niang when he ran through on goal, but Marseille failed to take advantage and score a second goal.
“Even with the extra man, we were still shaky at the end of the match,” Deschamps said. “It wasn’t easy, but the main thing is to keep our positive run of results going.”
Midfielder Benoit Cheyrou went close for Marseille in the 69th minute with a powerful low shot that rolled just wide.
Deschamps replaced Brandao with Spanish striker Fernando Morientes, one of his 10 summer signings, after 78 minutes, but it was Lille who looked the more likely to score late on.
Lille’s Belgium midfielder Eden Hazard forced goalkeeper Steve Mandanda into an athletic leaping save in the 85th minute.
Earlier, Gregory Thil scored twice to give promoted Boulogne their first ever win in the French first division, with a 2-1 home win over Grenoble.
Thil, a veteran striker who scored 18 goals last season to help the club get promoted, opened the scoring in the 34th minute and added another four minutes later. Serbia striker Danijel Ljuboja pulled a goal back for Grenoble in the 48th minute.
Boulogne, who finished 11th in the equivalent of the fourth division five years ago, are tipped to struggle in their first season in the top flight. Boulogne’s Stade de la Liberation has a capacity of under 9,000 and the club has limited funds.
Also Sunday, Asamoah Gyan’s penalty just after halftime earned Rennes a 1-1 draw at Nice, who took the lead through Chaouki Ben Saada in the 44th minute.
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