Marseille title hopes dented by Bordeaux

PARIS: Marseille missed the chance to close to within two points of Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1 after slipping up 1-0 at Bordeaux in Sunday ‘s late game.
Defender Cedric Yambere ‘s 61st-minute goal, less than a minute after coming off the bench, sank Marseille, now fourth, and dealt their title hopes a massive blow.
In a game dominated by the visitors, Michy Batshuayi had the ball in the back of the Bordeaux net with 15 minutes left but the young Belgium forward ‘s effort was correctly flagged for offside.
Marseille have not triumphed at the Stade Chaban-Delmas since 1977 and have picked up just four victories in 51 attempts against Les Girondins in the top flight.
With six games to go, the south coast side find themselves five points behind leaders PSG and four adrift of second-placed Lyon, with both teams having a game in hand.
Bordeaux now sit on sixth and are in contention to qualify for the Europa League with their fourth win in the past five games.
Earlier Sunday, there was a hint of nostalgia in Ligue 1 as Saint-Etienne beat Nantes 1-0, the two clubs having won 15 league titles between them in a 20-year stretch up to the early 1980 ‘s.
On an afternoon of glorious sunshine, thousands of fans went bare-chested in the stands at a packed and boisterous Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, where Franck Tabanou ‘s thunderbolt free kick on 18 minutes was enough to give three precious points to Europe-chasing Saint-Etienne.
Sunday ‘s win also helped them get over the disappointment of Wednesday ‘s 4-1 defeat to PSG in the French Cup semi-finals.
Nantes, for their part, have re-established themselves as a mid-table side after promotion two seasons ago, their last French title coming in 2001.
Monaco beat Caen on Friday to climb up to third on 58 points, holding onto the third and final Champions League qualifying spot.
PSG ‘s defence of their League Cup title on Saturday, which featured doubles from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani, means their League game with Metz, originally scheduled for this weekend, will now be played on April 28th, while Lyon ‘s game with Bastia will be played this Wednesday.
Elsewhere on Sunday, striker Said Benrahma ‘s 4th minute strike was enough to give Nice a 1-0 at Reims.