France round-up: Marseille misery for PSG

A 1-0 defeat at Olympique de Marseille pushed Paris Saint-Germain FC out of the French title race and dented their European hopes on Friday.

Fourteen-year jinx
PSG were eager to break a 14-year jinx since their last win at the Stade Vélodrome and so stay in contention for the league title or a UEFA Champions League berth. But it was mid-table Marseille who edged a tight encounter as Belgian defender Daniel van Buyten headed the only goal from a corner by Andre Luiz 20 minutes into the second half.

Van Buyten's strike
In front of a capacity crowd of 60,000 and amid heavy rain, it was a tense affair with supporters' skirmishes outside the ground before kick-off and a fierce midfield battle when the game started. PSG survived Marseille's early pressure but had no response to Van Buyten's strike.

PSG are third
With two games left, PSG are third in the table on 55 points from 32 matches. They are six points adrift of leaders RC Lens and four off Olympique Lyonnais, who both have a match in hand. Fourth-placed AJ Auxerre, meanwhile, are just a point behind the Parisians with two games in hand.

Champions League places
The top two teams qualify automatically for the European Champions League first group phase with the third entering the preliminary qualification round. The fourth-placed team enter the UEFA Cup.