Nantes dented Marseille's bid for the Ligue 1 title as a strike from Serge Gakpe condemned Marcelo Bielsa's side to a 1-0 defeat at the Stade de la Beaujoire this evening.
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The home side had a strong start to the game as Alejandro Bedoya raced through to the edge of the box, but he was unable to hit the target with his right-footed drive.
Nantes pressed forward again and Johan Audel carved out space to drill an effort at goal, but Steve Mandanda made the stop.
Michel Der Zakarian's men took the lead in the 20th minute when Gakpe collected the ball inside the box and maintained his composure to beat Mandanda with a low strike into the bottom corner.
Michy Batshuayi had a great opportunity to bring Marseille level with an effort from the edge of the box, but his strike went inches past the post.
In the second half, the home side searched for a second goal to take the game away from the visitors, but Jordan Veretout was denied by a solid save from Mandanda.
Marseille came within inches of levelling the match when Andre-Pierre Gignac latched on to a corner in the six-yard box, but he could only guide his header past the post.
Lucas Ocampos had a late effort for the visitors in an attempt to rescue a point, but his strike was saved by Remy Riou as the home side secure the victory.
Simon Sinclair
