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A late goal from David Hellebuyck sealed a 2-1 win for Saint-Etienne over Marseille after an enthralling encounter at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Sunday.
Franck Ribéry drew Marseille level in the first half after Pascal Feindouno’s header had broken the deadlock, but as both sides went in search of a winner after the interval it was Les Verts who eventually struck the killer blow.
The two sides both started the evening on 17 points, with Marseille the form team having won five of their last six Ligue 1 encounters. They could not avoid slumping to a fifth defeat of the campaign, however, a result that takes Elie Baup’s team up to fourth in the standings, just three points adrift of second-placed Paris Saint-Germain.
After a frantic opening it was Marseille who created the game’s first chance on 19 minutes, Ribéry surging into the penalty area before the ball broke to Christian Gimenez who fired over.
One of Marseille’s big problems this season has been defending set pieces, and they fell behind from a free kick midway through the first period. Hellebuyck’s cross from the right should have been cut out by Lorik Cana but the Albanian defender, a hero against PSG last weekend, was slow off the mark and Feindouno rose to head home.
The visitors were already missing Frédéric Déhu after the centre-back withdrew with a late injury, and they soon lost Mamadou Niang when the Senegal striker pulled up short with a muscle strain.
His replacement Sergio Koke set up the equaliser 10 minutes before half-time, though, roaring down the right and cutting the ball back for Sabri Lamouchi, whose miscued shot fell kindly for Ribéry. The France Under-21 star was left with all the time in the world to dispatch a shot past Jérémie Janot.
Wilson Oruma then went close to giving Marseille the lead shortly after the break, sidefooting Taye Taiwo’s cross goalwards only for Janot to make a sprawling save. From the resulting corner, Cana headed Ribéry's cross fractionally wide of the frame.
The game fluctuated from end to end, and Fabien Barthez was called into action in the 69th minute. Sébastien Mazure set off on a rangy run on the right and picked out Frédéric Piquionne in the centre, but Barthez pulled off a splendid stop to deny the Saint-Etienne striker.
The tension inside the ground mounted as both sides exchanged openings. In the 80th minute Gimenez broke free on the home goal after Zoumana Camara had left the ball unwisely for his goalkeeper but the former Basel hitman fired his shot too close to Janot.
Marseille were made to pay for the miss, as three minutes later Les Verts scored the winner. Hellebuyck played a pass in to Loic Perrin whose clever backheel returned the ball to Hellebuyck, and the midfielder duly crashed a shot home past Barthez to send 'Le Caudron' into wild celebration.
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