Marseille move up to second as Monaco held by Nice
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - AS Monaco vs OGC Nice - Stade Louis II, Monaco - January 16, 2018 Monaco's Adama Diakhaby in action REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
PARIS (Reuters) - Olympique de Marseille claimed their fifth home victory in a row when they beat Strasbourg 2-0 to move up to second in Ligue 1 on Tuesday.
Clinton Njie and Dmitri Payet found the net to put OM on 44 points from 21 games, nine points behind runaway leaders Paris St Germain, who take on Dijon on Wednesday.
Monaco are third on 43 points after Mario Balotelli's double earned Nice a 2-2 draw at the Louis II stadium in the Azurean derby.
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Olympique de Marseille vs RC Strasbourg - Orange Velodrome, Marseille, France - January 16, 2018 Marseille's Dimitri Payet celebrates scoring their second goal with team mates REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier
Marseille struggled to break the deadlock in a dull first half but found a way through after the break.
Valere Germain missed a penalty in the 73rd minute but the home side were rewarded for their dominance 10 minutes from fulltime when Njie volleyed home from close range.
Payet put the result beyond doubt in the 87th, poking the ball home after dribbling past keeper Alexandre Oukidja.
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - AS Monaco vs OGC Nice - Stade Louis II, Monaco - January 16, 2018 Nice's Mario Balotelli scores their first goal REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
Champions Monaco took the lead against the run of play after 33 minutes as Adama Diakhaby scored from point-blank range from Thomas Lemar's cross.
Yet Nice equalised through Balotelli two minutes into the second half when the Italian latched onto Allan Saint Maximin's cross from the right.
Balotelli put Nice ahead in the 68th, easing his way past Andrea Raggi before beating Danijel Subasic from close range.
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Olympique de Marseille vs RC Strasbourg - Orange Velodrome, Marseille, France - January 16, 2018 Strasbourg’s Alexandre Oukidja in action REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier
It was the Italian's third double in four games against Monaco.
Radamel Falcao salvaged a point for the hosts with a goal two minutes into stoppage time.
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - AS Monaco vs OGC Nice - Stade Louis II, Monaco - January 16, 2018 Monaco's Radamel Falcao celebrates scoring their second goal with team mates REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Olympique de Marseille vs RC Strasbourg - Orange Velodrome, Marseille, France - January 16, 2018 Marseille's Dimitri Payet in action with Strasbourg’s Ihsan Sacko REUTERS/Jean-Paul PelissierSoccer Football - Ligue 1 - AS Monaco vs OGC Nice - Stade Louis II, Monaco - January 16, 2018 Monaco's Adama Diakhaby in action with Nice's Patrick Burner REUTERS/Eric GaillardSoccer Football - Ligue 1 - AS Monaco vs OGC Nice - Stade Louis II, Monaco - January 16, 2018 Monaco's Adama Diakhaby scores their first goal REUTERS/Eric GaillardSoccer Football - Ligue 1 - AS Monaco vs OGC Nice - Stade Louis II, Monaco - January 16, 2018 Nice's Mario Balotelli in action REUTERS/Eric GaillardSoccer Football - Ligue 1 - Olympique de Marseille vs RC Strasbourg - Orange Velodrome, Marseille, France - January 16, 2018 Marseille's Dimitri Payet scores their second goal REUTERS/Jean-Paul PelissierSoccer Football - Ligue 1 - AS Monaco vs OGC Nice - Stade Louis II, Monaco - January 16, 2018 Monaco's Radamel Falcao in action with Nice's Pierre Lees-Melou REUTERS/Eric GaillardSoccer Football - Ligue 1 - Olympique de Marseille vs RC Strasbourg - Orange Velodrome, Marseille, France - January 16, 2018 Marseille's Luiz Gustavo in action with Strasbourg’s Alexandre Oukidja REUTERS/Jean-Paul PelissierSoccer Football - Ligue 1 - AS Monaco vs OGC Nice - Stade Louis II, Monaco - January 16, 2018 Monaco's Radamel Falcao in action with Nice's Marlon REUTERS/Eric GaillardSoccer Football - Ligue 1 - Olympique de Marseille vs RC Strasbourg - Orange Velodrome, Marseille, France - January 16, 2018 Strasbourg’s Anthony Goncalves in action with Marseille's Luiz Gustavo REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier
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