Marseille, whose last league title came 18 seasons ago, moved second in the French table on Saturday, three points behind Bordeaux, as a second-half goal from Gabriel Heinze and a penalty from Taye Taiwo saw off struggling Boulogne.
The win took Marseille to 28 points from 15 games.
PHOTO: AFP
After struggling to break down well-drilled rivals in the opening period at an impatient Stade Velodrome, Marseille finally made the breakthrough when former Manchester United defender Heinze converted a near-post corner from Benoit Cheyrou three minutes after the interval.
The southerners made the game safe on 54 minutes when Damien Marcq fouled Argentine striker Lucho Gonzalez in the box to enable Nigerian Taiwo to convert the resulting spot-kick.
Boulogne ended the encounter a man down after Olubayo Adefemi was dismissed three minutes from time for an overly hefty tackle on Marseille midfield maestro Hatem Ben Arfa.
Marseille coach Didier Deschamps said he was satisfied to have beaten awkward rivals, who came in the hope of poaching a point.
“It was tough. They were very solid with nine men behind the ball, but we got the job done,” the former France skipper said.
“These teams are always tough to play against,” Ben Arfa said. “We had to be patient. We have put our Champions League elimination behind us and we are going to focus on the league.”
As the winter break draws ever closer the top half of the table is tight, with only seven points separating Bordeaux from 10th-placed Toulouse.
Auxerre are level on 27 points with Montpellier after a goalless draw with Lorient, who now sit above Lyon on goal difference.
Rennes also have 26 points after a 2-1 win at Nancy, secured when Sylvain Marveaux scored a second-half winner.
Lens, champions in 1998, benefited from that result to move ahead of Nancy into mid-table after Kanga Akale and Toifilou Maoulida scored in a 2-0 home win over Nice, who the hosts likewise leapfrogged.
Any hopes that Valenciennes harbored of edging a point ahead of Marseille were dashed when the northern club went down 2-1 at Le Mans, who remain in the drop zone.
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