Marseille lose further ground in title race with Auxerre loss

MARSEILLE: Marseille passed up the chance to reduce the gap to Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain by falling to a 3-1 defeat at home to Auxerre on Friday.

Roberto De Zerbi´s side remain in second place, six points behind bitter rivals PSG, but with the Parisians in action on Saturday at lowly Angers, the gap could grow further.

Lassine Sinayoko, Gaetan Perrin and Hamed Traore sent Auxerre into a shock three-goal lead by the interval, before Mason Greenwood reduced the deficit from the spot after the hour.

The result sends Auxerre into the European spots as they jumped up to sixth place on 16 points. “Leading 3-0 at the break was something we´d never have imagined,” said Auxerre coach Christophe Pelissier.

“We wanted to defend well on the inside and quickly burst down the flanks. We did that perfectly and effectively in the first half.” Marseille could find themselves out of the top three by the end of the weekend, with third-place Monaco and fourth-place Lille both in action on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

The south coast side remain on 20 points, level with Monaco and just two ahead of Lille -- who continued their excellent run of form in the Champions League by holding Italian giants Juventus to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday.

Sinayoko gave the visitors the lead on 10 minutes after an error by defender Lilian Brassier. Then two goals in two minutes immediately before the interval put Auxerre in a commanding position at the Velodrome.

First, Perrin doubled the lead on 43 minutes as Sinayoko turned provider then Marseille gave the ball away again and Traore found the back of the net through goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli´s legs.