Marseille have suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to relegation candidates Troyes away from home in Ligue 1.

The French giants were always in control of the game and could have taken the lead as early as the second minute at Stade de l'Aube, had Benoit Cheyrou's shot from outside the box not been saved.

Morgan Amalfitano too saw his attempt saved by Troyes goalkeeper Yohann Thuram-Ulien before Charles Kabore saw his shot from outside the penalty box go wide.

Loic Remy almost headed in Mathieu Valbuena's cross on the stroke of half-time, and Valbuena himself made an attempt on the Troyes goal three minutes after the restart.

However, the hosts could have taken a shock lead on 56 minutes when Benjamin Nivet headed Stephane Darbion's delivery against the Marseille crossbar.

Remy, Cheyrou and Andre Ayew came close to breaking the deadlock for the visitors in the subsequent minutes, and Elie Baup's side conceded a shock goal in the 89th minute when Nivet found the target from close range.

The result means that Marseille remain second behind Paris Saint-Germain on goal difference.