Marseille and Saint-Etienne met at the Stade Velodrome on Tuesday night with the chance to bounce back from their disappointing results at the weekend.
Les Phoceens were held to a goalless draw at Bastia while Les Verts threw away the lead to lose at home to Toulouse.
However, Marseille edged out Saint-Etienne in a pulsating affair to move level on points with league leaders AS Monaco.
Read how the match unfolded in our live commentary below.
Good evening and welcome to Sports Mole’s live coverage from Ligue 1 where Marseille take on Saint-Etienne at the Stade Velodrome.
Part two of Sports Mole’s Ligue 1 coverage tonight is a massive game for both sides, after a disappointing weekend for Marseille and Saint-Etienne.
With Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco unable to be separated at the Parc des Princes on Sunday night, Les Phoceens and Les Verts will be kicking themselves that they could not take full advantage and make up ground on the leaders.
Friday night saw Saint-Etienne gifted the lead against Toulouse before throwing it away in the second half to lose 2-1 at Stade Geoffrey-Guichard, while Marseille could only manage a draw at Bastia on Saturday afternoon.
However, a win for either of these sides tonight could send them to the head of the French top tier, yet a draw would be a huge boost for clubs like Nice, Rennes, Lyon and Lille who sit just below the duo and are eager to capture European places.
Despite their recent slip-ups, neither side is particularly worried by their last result, according to Marseille captain Steve Mandanda and Saint-Etienne boss Christophe Galtier.
Mandanda: "We can't talk of there being a crisis because we're right up there near the top of the table. We've just drawn two Ligue 1 matches in a row and I'm sure we'll score the goals that will make the difference. We've not won for a while now but we're solid and producing some interesting things on the field. We need to stay positive."
Galtier: I'm not worried and I'm not angry because I know the strengths and weaknesses of my team. I know there are certain things we need to work on but I was disappointed with the effort levels against Toulouse. I won't be worried as long as our next matches go well and we've got two matches coming up in quick succession."
Marseille are four matches without a win, but Saint-Etienne haven’t won at the Stade Velodrome since 1979. This should be a cracker.
Right, let’s get you the team news.
MARSEILLE XI: Mandanda, Fanni, Nkoulou, Mendes, Mendy, Romao, Imbula, Payet, Valbuena, A.Ayew, J.Ayew
Morel and Gignac both out injured for Les Phoceens. Elie Baup brings Mendy in for the former, while Jordan Ayew starts up front.
SAINT-ETIENNE XI: Ruffier, Clerc, Sall, Zouma, Ghoulam, Lemoine, Clement, Cohade, Mollo, Erding, Hamouma
No Valette, Pogba, Gradel, Baysse, Brison, Brandao, Perrin or Saadi for Les Verts tonight.
The two teams are out at the Stade Velodrome, and we're moments away from the start of this match.
Marseille are wearing their white home strip with baby blue trim, while Saint-Etienne sport their all-green home kit.
There's a great atmosphere once again at the Stade Velodrome, and just imagine what it is going to be like when this stadium is extended to seat 67,000 fans for Euro 2016.
We must be closing in on winter, as Les Phoceens boss Elie Baup is donning his light blue baseball cap. He's like the French Tony Pulis.
KICK OFF! Saint-Etienne, playing from left to right, get the game underway.
Early corner to Marseille after Sall knocks it behind. The first one is put behind for another corner, before Les Verts eventually clear.
Great start from Marseille. Andre Ayew places in Mendy down the left who puts in a dangerous cross on the edge of the six-yard box. Jordan Ayew should throw himself at the ball, but it's put behind for another corner.
Saint-Etienne are now having a spell of attacking. Lots of early crosses being whipped in from both sides, but no shots on goal as of yet.
CHANCE! First real chance of the game goes to Marseille and it's a lovely bit of play on the edge of the box which ends with Payet pulling off a superb little through ball on the spin to the right of the box. Fanni runs onto it, but can't hammer his shot on target.
Saint-Etienne are sitting very deep and almost inviting Les Phoceens to attack them.
CLOSE! Ghoulam hits a scorcher from range after Mandanda's goal kick was intercepted. He cuts across the ball from 30 yards out on the left, and the ball zips just past the near post.
Payet floats in a teasing free kick which Saint-Etienne put behind. That's better from Payet.
Marseille have shaded a very entertaining match so far. Both teams are really going for this when on the attack.
CHANCE! Valbuena crosses a free kick in towards the penalty spot where Fanni can't head goalwards. It finds Jordan Ayew at the far post, but his header back across goal is tame and easily caught by Ruffier.
GOAL! Marseille 1-0 Saint-Etienne (Benjamin Mendy)
It's a fortunate finish from Mendy but they all count. Valbuena puts a deep swirling cross into the far side of the box, and Mendy meets the ball by volleying into the ground and watching it bounce over Ruffier's head. That's his first for the club.
Ruffier, having set himself ready to save a power strike, could do nothing about that Mendy goal.
Marseille 2-0 Saint-Etienne (Gianelli Imbula)
Suddenly Marseille are in a very comfortable position, and this is a great goal. Ayew plays a pass out wide to the roaming Fanni, who pulls a low cross back into the penalty area. It evades two forwards before landing at the feet of Imbula, who side-foots it first time into the bottom corner. That was his first goal for the club.
Marseille are now in full control, and Saint-Etienne are struggling to string a few passes together. Les Phoceens have been buoyed by their goals and are giving the visitors all sorts of problems.
PENALTY TO SAINT-ETIENNE!
GOAL! Marseille 2-1 Saint-Etienne (Faouzi Ghoulam)
Saint-Etienne are awarded a controversial penalty for what the referee deemed to be a handball. Ghoulam steps up and puts the ball right in the bottom right corner just out of reach of Mandanda. Game on.
Going back to the penalty call, and it didn't even look as if the defender who 'handled' was in the box.
SAVE! So close to being 3-1 then. Valbuena takes a free kick from 25 yards out just left of centre, and he curls it powerfully towards the top corner. It looks a certain goal, but Ruffier flings himself to his right and palms it away. Great stop.
CHANCE! Les Verts nearly find an equaliser as Ghoulam plays a cross to the edge of the box, and Cohade smashes a shot first time but just over.
Mollo drifts down the left of the box and should probably have a go at goal but takes too long. He then chips a wonderful cross to the far side of the box where Hamouma is waiting and hits a volley that deflects out for a corner.
CHANCE! Saint-Etienne showing far more ambition since scoring that penalty, and Clerc puts in a great ball from the right touchline. Hamouma is there but he cannot get clean connection on the volley, and it crawls to the arms of Mandanda. That was a big chance.
SAVE! What a stop from Ruffier! Ayew puts a cross in from the right which lands at the feet of Valbuena in the centre. He tries to side-foot it into the bottom corner, but Ruffier sticks out a hand at the last second to tip it behind.
HALF TIME: Marseille 2-1 Saint-Etienne
My word what a half. It simply flew by and has been so free flowing that there was no added time. Ghoulam from the penalty spot has got Saint-Etienne back in it after Mendy and Imbula had put Marseille in a commanding position.
Ruffier has also pulled off two world class saves from Valbuena, and Les Verts have had chances too.
Here are the half-time stats.
Match statistics:
Marseille:
Shots 7
On target 4
Possession 55%
Corners 5
Fouls 6
Saint-Etienne:
Shots 6
On target 2
Possession 45%
Corners 2
Fouls 8
Saint-Etienne are making their way back out onto the field.
And out come Marseille to join them.
KICK OFF! Marseille, playing from left to right, get the game back underway.
CLOSE! Saint-Etienne are fractions away from an equaliser, as Zouma rises highest at the corner but nods his effort just wide.
Andre Ayew puts a brilliant cross into Les Verts box, and Marseille appeal wildly for a penalty as they believe the incident is no different to the one that resulted in a spot kick for Saint-Etienne in the first half. Nothing given.
Marseille are still in the driving seat, but haven't been able to test Ruffier yet.
SAINT-ETIENNE CHANGE Franck Tabanou is on in place of Romain Hamouma.
Mollo is absolutely screaming in pain after being challenged by Andre Ayew. It's an awful challenge and catches the Saint-Etienne man late and low. Worrying scenes.
YELLOW CARD Andre Ayew is given a yellow and not a red following that challenge. It's probably the right decision.
SAINT-ETIENNE CHANGE Mollo cannot continue and comes off. He is hugged by Ayew on the way off as a sign of an apology. Mollo still seems annoyed and in pain and is replaced by Ibrahim Sissoko.
SAVE! Ruffier stops an own goal. Valbuena swings in a cross with real venom, that deflects of the knee of Zouma on the near side of the six-yard box. It's heading for the top corner until Ruffier pulls off a great reaction stop.
If there is going to be another goal in this match, it looks as if it is only going to come from Marseille. Valbuena has been awesome tonight.
YELLOW CARD Cohade is booked for shirt pulling as he tried to stop the counter attack.
MARSEILLE CHANGE Valbuena has been taken off by Baup, with Florian Thauvin coming on. Bit surprised by that to be honest.
Saint-Etienne are asking questions of Marseille now, who seem to have dropped the tempo. There is a lot of crossing going on at the moment but not too much substance.
SAINT-ETIENNE CHANGE Saint-Maximin is on in place of Lemoine.
MARSEILLE CHANGE Lemina on for Payet.
OFF THE LINE! So close to an equaliser from Saint-Etienne. Tabanou slams a powerful rocket from the edge of the box at an angle, and Andre Ayew is there to clear the ball off the line.
Marseille are really inviting pressure from Saint-Etienne, and are limping their way towards the finish line as things are.
MARSEILLE CHANGE Jordan Ayew, who is taking his time to walk off the field, is making way for Saber Khalifa.
Saint-Etienne are running out of time. Marseille are trying to run down the clock as much as possible.
We will have four minutes of added time.
SAVE! Ruffier keeps Saint-Etienne alive once again. Zouma's header away if awful and goes straight to Andre Ayew. He controls the ball on his chest in the corner of the box, and smashes a half-volley towards the top corner. But yet again, Ruffier manages to somehow push it away.
Les Verts have really missed Brandao in recent weeks. They have no cutting edge without the big Brazilian striker at present.
Ruffier just came up for a corner for Saint-Etienne, but the corner was poor and straight into the arms of Mandanda, who decided to hold onto the ball for as long as possible.
FULL TIME: Marseille 2-1 Saint-Etienne
Well that's it, and what a pulsating end we had to an absorbing match. It was mainly entertaining in chunks, but Marseille did just enough to pull off an important victory and move level on points at the top of Ligue 1 with leaders AS Monaco.
Here are the full-time stats.
Match statistics:
Marseille:
Shots 10
On target 4
Possession 52%
Corners 8
Fouls 10
Saint-Etienne:
Shots 11
On target 4
Possession 48%
Corners 10
Fouls 17
Well that's it from me tonight. I hope you enjoyed both matches, and I'll be back tomorrow evening for the rest of this week's Ligue 1 action. Until then, goodnight.
Written by
Matt Cotton
Matt Cotton
