MARSEILLE: Olympique de Marseille rose to second in Ligue 1 with a 3-2 win against Toulouse on Sunday, while Strasbourg moved into the Champions League spots following a narrow win at Reims.

Superb second-half goals at the Velodrome from Mason Greenwood and Adrien Rabiot lifted Marseille above AS Monaco, but Roberto De Zerbi’s side can no longer dream of catching leaders Paris St-Germain who wrapped up the Ligue 1 title on Saturday.

“We’ve had a good last week (training), the coach was annoyed and tried a bit to remotivate us,” Rabiot told DAZN after Marseille snapped a three-match losing streak.

“We gave the right reply tonight. It’s not enough to do it for just one match, we have to stay like that until the end.

“We can see that the upcoming schedule is busy and that the table is very tight, so we have to continue like this.”

A Gabriel Suazo own-goal put the hosts ahead midway through the first half.

Frank Magri headed an equaliser shortly afterwards.

Vincent Sierro scored inside the final 15 minutes to give Toulouse hope but Marseille clung on to win.

Former Manchester United forward Greenwood set Marseille on the path to victory with an unstoppable right-footed drive on 57 minutes.

France international Rabiot then scored what proved to be the decider seven minutes later with a fierce volley from inside the box.

Earlier, Strasbourg won 1-0 at Reims’ Stade Auguste-Delaune to claim fourth spot.

A top-four finish for Liam Rosenior’s young Strasbourg side would secure them Champions League football for the first time since 1980.

“I have confidence in this squad, they’re showing great things,” said Rosenior. “Since the start of the season, we haven’t set any limits for them. They’ll keep pushing until the end.”

Ismael Doucoure’s early strike was enough to earn Strasbourg a vital victory at Reims and bring them up to 49 points — one behind third-placed Monaco.

Both sides finished down to 10 men following a scuffle deep into injury time. A top-three finish will ensure direct qualification for Europe’s top club competition, while the side in fourth will play a qualifying round to reach the league phase.

Two points separate Strasbourg and seventh-placed Lille, with French giants Olympique Lyonnais and Nice in between.Defeat for Reims meant Samba Diawara’s side slipped to 16th place — the relegation play-off spot.

Elsewhere, Le Havre escaped the relegation play-off place at the expense of Reims with a 2-0 win away to bottom-of-the-table Montpellier.

Saint-Etienne remain mired in the direct relegation zone following a 1-0 loss to RC Lens. Rennes lost 1-0 at home to Auxerre following an 89th-minute winner by Jubal.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2025