Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - AS Saint-Etienne v Olympique de Marseille - Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne, France - February 5, 2020 Olympique de Marseille's Boubacar Kamara in action with Saint Etienne's Jean Eudes Aholou and Wahbi Khazri REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot
Goals by Dimitri Payet and Nemanja Radonjic helped Olympique de Marseille beat St Etienne 2-0 on Wednesday to move six points clear in second place in Ligue 1.
Payet netted after seven minutes and Radonjic doubled the lead late on to put Marseille on 46 points from 23 games, a distant 12 behind leaders Paris St Germain but with a healthy advantage over third-placed Stade Rennais.
The kickoff was delayed by 15 minutes after the players were affected in their warmup by tear gas used by the police during a fight between opposing fans outside of the stadium.
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - AS Saint-Etienne v Olympique de Marseille - Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne, France - February 5, 2020 Olympique de Marseille's Morgan Sanson celebrates after the match with Dimitri Payet and Valere Germain REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot
OM were quick off the mark, however, as Payet beat Stephane Ruffier from just inside the box.
Radonjic put the result beyond doubt five minutes from fulltime with a low angled shot.
St Etienne are 15th on 28 points.
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - AS Saint-Etienne v Olympique de Marseille - Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne, France - February 5, 2020 Olympique de Marseille's Nemanja Radonjic celebrates scoring their second goal with Dimitri Payet REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot
Olympique Lyonnais's hopes of securing a Champions League spot for next season were hit when they were held to a goalless draw at home by lowly Amiens.
Rudi Garcia's team are sixth on 33 points, seven points behind Rennes.
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - AS Saint-Etienne v Olympique de Marseille - Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne, France - February 5, 2020 Olympique de Marseille's Nemanja Radonjic celebrates scoring their second goal with Boubacar Kamara REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)
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