PARIS: There was no comeback this time as Jorge Sampaoli experienced his first defeat as Olympique de Marseille coach, losing 3-0 at Nice on Saturday.

Sampaoli won his first two matches with late goals but Nice held firm after midfielder Khephren Thuram-Ulien, the son of famed France defender Lilian Thuram, headed home in the 33rd minute.

Nice doubled their lead with around 20 minutes left when Marseille botched a throw-in near its goal, and Amine Gouiri robbed a defender of the ball before slotting an angled shot through goalkeeper Steve Mandanda’s legs.

Dario Benedetto had a late strike for Marseille disallowed by VAR for offside, and their misery was compounded when Alexis Claude-Maurice added extra gloss to the scoreline for their Mediterranean-coast rivals in injury time.

Marseille dropped behind Lens to sixth place while Nice climbed up to 10th.

Stade Rennais won their second straight match under new coach Bruno Genesio, beating Metz 3-1 away.

Rennes leapfrogged Metz into seventh place one point behind Marseille to boost their chances of clinching fifth and a Europa League spot next season.

Away forward Jeremy Doku netted in the 18th minute before Martin Terrier’s penalty seven minutes before half-time.

The 18-year-old Doku was sent off early in the second half, but Serhou Guirassy wrapped up the points for Rennes late on. Papa Ndiaga Yade hit a 90th-minute consolation goal for Metz.

Before the last two wins, Rennes, who played in this season’s Champions League group stage, had suffered six consecutive league defeats in a run which cost Julien Stephan his job as coach.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2021