Marseille, Strasbourg win in Ligue 1 to close in on Champions League

MARSEILLE: 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 Monaco, but Roberto De Zerbi´s side can no longer dream of catching leaders Paris Saint-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.

- No limits Strasbourg - “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. 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 Lyon and Nice in between. Doucoure was left on his own inside the six-yard box to stroke home from Sebastian Nanasi´s corner in the fourth minute. Reims thought they were level on 20 minutes, but Junya Ito´s strike was ruled out for a handball by the Japanese forward.