Lyon edge Guingamp, Marseille fall short to Rennes in Ligue 1

Lyon claimed a hard-fought victory of 2-1 over Guingamp while Marseille suffered another frustrating loss as they handed Rennes the first victory this campaign at 3-1 in Ligue 1.

Lyon withstood the void left by the departure of productive striker Alexandre Lacazette to keep themselves intact in the opening four rounds, reports Xinhua news agency.

They were tested several times by Guingamp early into this match on Sunday. However, it turned out that Mariano Diaz broke the deadlock for Lyon in the 19th minute, as the former Real Madrid forward collected the ball in the opponents' half, and he was given enough space to fire a shot outside the box.

The two sides changed the scoreboard twice in just one minute. Marcus Thuram, son of former France international defender Lilian Thuram, headed his first goal in the French top-flight league for Guingamp in the 71st minute.

Lyon's captain Nabil Fekir later proved himself, as he went past two defenders outside the penalty area to slot home, helping his team move up to third place, four points adrift of leaders Paris Saint-Germain, who owned a 100 percent winning record. Diaz and Fekir have combined for eight out of 11 goals so far.

Marseille shockingly conceded two goals just 10 minutes into the home game, resulted from their weak defense on both flanks.

Wahbi Khazri opened the visitors' scoring account with an eye-catching back-heel finish on Ismaila Sarr's right-flank stitching cross on two minutes.

Benjamin Bourigeaud put Rennes further beyond touch in the 10th minute. He was left unmarked to move forward quickly from nearly the half line for a spectacular shot, leaving a helpless Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda.

Khazri got a chance of finishing a brace, while hitting the post early in the second half.

Marseille were disappointed again in the 70th minute for their leaking defense on a free-kick, and Joris Gnagnon made it three to none, before Morgan Sanson cut the deficit late in the game.

Rennes even had the opportunity of setting their advantage at three goals, but Firmin Mubele's powerful spot kick went over the crossbar.

Marseille conceded a total of nine goals in the past two league matches, after they were humiliated by defending champions Monaco 6-1.

Saint-Etienne ranked fourth with a 1-1 draw against Angers.

--IANS

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