Lille gained a potentially priceless 2-1 win over Olympique de Marseille at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday to return to the top of the league on goal difference.
In a high-octane encounter, young Belgian star Eden Hazard celebrated signing a new contract extension on Friday by firing the ball from 30m out past Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda to give Lille a 10th-minute lead.
Senegelese striker Moussa Sow almost doubled that for Lille shortly after, but his close range angled shot from the left went high and it was only fine work by Mandanda that denied Lille’s Gervinho from 6m on the stroke of halftime, with the Marseille players heading for the dressing room thankful of only being one goal behind.
Photo: Reuters
Didier Deschamps’ men emerged after the break intent on unlocking Lille’s defense and in the 60th minute Loic Remy found the key, the France international shooting low and hard past Lille goalkeeper Mickael Landrau.
Just as it looked as though Marseille had done enough to earn a share of the spoils, Pierre-Alain Frau angled in Emerson’s cross from the left to defy Mandanda in the 90th minute and earn Lille a famous victory.
Earlier on Sunday, multiple former champions Olympique Lyonnais climbed above Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain into third with a 5-0 drubbing of Arles-Avignon, with Lisandro Lopez grabbing a hat-trick.
The Argentina international, sidelined for Lyon’s three last matches with a thigh problem, opened the scoring within the first quarter of an hour, adding two more goals, one a header, in the space of four second-half minutes.
Miralem Pjanic got Lyon’s second, having been set up by Lisandro, with Michel Bastos wrapping up a torrid encounter for Arles in stoppage-time off a corner.
Also on Sunday, Girondins de Bordeaux did their chances of securing European action next term a power of good with a 3-1 win at Stade Brestois 29.
Brazilian winger Wendel opened the scoring shortly after the break with a sublime free-kick from 25m. Jaroslav Plasil doubled up in the 67th minute, only for Brahim Farridj to give Brest some hope by cutting the deficit with three minutes left, but Bordeaux sealed the three points with Cheikh Diabate’s strike in the second minute of stoppage-time.
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