Olympique de Marseille reclaimed top spot in Ligue 1 from Paris Saint-Germain with a hard-earned 3-1 victory over Metz at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday evening.
Andre Ayew — making his first appearance in more than a month after injury — and Dimitri Payet scored to seal the win after Andre-Pierre Gignac’s first-half opener was canceled out by Florent Malouda.
An eighth consecutive home win for Marcelo Bielsa’s side means they end the weekend one point clear of defending champions PSG, who beat Nantes 2-1 on Saturday.
Photo: AFP
Marseille have not lost at home to Metz since 2004, when Franck Ribery was in the away side, but endured an uncomfortable first half on Sunday, creating little and requiring Steve Mandanda to make two fine saves from Malouda.
However, the hosts’ first attempt on target two minutes before to the interval put them in the lead. The goal came when Payet whipped in a cross from the left for the unmarked Gignac to head home his 12th of the season and 50th for l’OM.
Metz went level just 18 seconds into the second half after Juan Falcon teed up Malouda, whose shot beat Mandanda thanks to a deflection off Nicolas N’Koulou.
Yet Marseille were not to be denied, as Ayew marked his first appearance since picking up an injury on international duty last month by following up after Alaixys Romao’s shot hit the post on 59 minutes.
An in-form Payet wrapped up the win in injury-time with a cool finish after being set up by Rod Fanni.
“We need to improve. Things smiled for us tonight, but we could have a tricky time against other teams if we play like that,” Payet told Canal Plus afterward.
Earlier, a stoppage-time penalty from Ligue 1 leading scorer Alexandre Lacazette allowed Olympique Lyonnais to win 3-2 at Evian Thonon Gaillard and move back into third.
Lyon twice trailed in Annecy to goals from veteran Cedric Barbosa, but Lacazette equalized with nine minutes remaining before hammering home from the spot four minutes into injury-time.
A second hard-earned win in the space of 72 hours ensured that Hubert Fournier’s side are now back on track after their humbling 3-0 loss at bitter rivals AS Saint-Etienne last weekend.
Also in Ligue 1, Racing Club de Lens drew Lille LOSC Metropole 1-1, while En Avant de Guingamp beat Stade de Reims 3-2.
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