Respite for Villas-Boas as Marseille win; Depay rescues Lyon

Marseille took advantage of two comical defensive mix-ups to secure a 2-1 win at home to Lille on Saturday that sent them up to fourth in Ligue 1 and alleviated some of the pressure on coach Andre Villas-Boas.

Morgan Sanson stroked home the opening goal on 48 minutes after Lille goalkeeper Mike Maignan spilled a cross following a hefty collision with team-mate Gabriel.

The Brazilian centre-back unwittingly gifted Marseille a second goal 11 minutes from time when Valentin Rongier’s tame shot struck Dario Benedetto before Adama Soumaoro’s attempted headed clearance struck Gabriel and looped in off the post.

Lille captain Soumaoro rose magnificently to nod in a corner to give the visitors hope but Marseille held on to move level with third-placed Nantes on 19 points.

It was just a second win in seven league outings for Marseille and the ideal tonic for a team dumped out the League Cup in midweek following a display branded “shameful” by Villas-Boas.

That 2-1 loss at Monaco followed a 4-0 humbling away to Paris Saint-Germain, a defeat which left OM winless in 16 Ligue 1 meetings with their greatest rivals.

As for Lille, Christophe Galtier’s side have not won away from home in the league since March and missed the opportunity to reduce the gap to leaders PSG. Memphis Depay conjured up a superb 95th-minute winner as Lyon twice fought back from a goal behind to defeat Toulouse 3-2.

Yaya Sanogo put Toulouse ahead on 15 minutes but Depay soon levelled after a slick assist from Jeff Reine-Adelaide.

Toulouse regained the lead when Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes crashed into team-mate Jason Denayer coming for a cross, with the ball rolling off Lopes into the net. Moussa Dembele’s eighth goal of the season pulled Lyon level again before a brilliant solo strike from Depay won it at the death. Angers climbed to second, seven points adrift of PSG, as a Stephane Bahoken penalty earned the hosts a 1-0 victory over Strasbourg.

Amiens beat Brest 1-0 at the Stade de la Licorne, where a 25-year-old home fan was rushed to hospital after suffering a head injury following a nasty fall.

The man was reportedly bleeding heavily after tumbling several metres from a stand on to concrete. An update from the stadium announcer said the supporter had since regained consciousness.

Agence France-Presse