Nice bounce back to sink Marseille

Nice returned to winning ways on Sunday as a first-half Valere Germain goal secured a 1-0 victory away to Mediterranean rivals Marseille at the Stade Velodrome in Ligue 1.

Germain, who was born in Marseille when his father Bruno was playing for OM and supported the club as a boy, got the only goal of the game in the 16th minute, collecting a Wallyson Mallmann pass and drilling in a low shot from range that beat Steve Mandanda and found the bottom-left corner.

It was a welcome win for Nice, who were recently inspired to a fine run of form by the brilliance of Hatem Ben Arfa but made the trip along France's south coast after failing to win any of their previous three Ligue 1 outings.

Claude Puel's side move provisionally up to sixth in the table, but there was more frustration for Marseille, who have never really got going under Spanish coach Michel.

After three straight wins in all competitions, this setback leaves OM in 12th place, only three points above the relegation zone.

"I am more disappointed than worried," said Michel, who had to make do without the injured Romain Alessandrini and the suspended Lassana Diarra, Remy Cabella and Nicolas Nkoulou.

"I don't think it was the absences that made the difference today."

The encounter was notable for the return of Ben Arfa to face his former club -- the winger, who was this week recalled to the France squad for upcoming friendlies against Germany and England, played for Marseille between 2008 and 2010 before joining Newcastle United.

However, it was on-loan Monaco striker Germain who made the decisive intervention, his fifth goal of the season, and first since late September, proving enough to give Nice the points.

Ben Arfa had a shot palmed away by Mandanda after he held off Karim Rekik just after the half-hour mark, and he also had a free-kick turned around the post by Mandanda in the second period.

Jean-Michael Seri also threatened from a free-kick for the visitors, while Marseille offered little, coming closest to levelling when Michy Batshuayi muscled his way into the box in the second half before firing over the bar.

- Valbuena starts derby -

Later on Sunday, Lyon host bitter rivals Saint-Etienne in what will be the last ever Rhone-Alpes derby at the Stade de Gerland before OL move into a new 59,000-seat stadium early in the New Year ahead of Euro 2016.

Mathieu Valbuena was included in the Lyon starting line-up at the end of a week overshadowed by the arrest of his France colleague Karim Benzema.

The Real Madrid striker was charged with complicity to blackmail and conspiring to commit a criminal act in an extortion case involving a sex tape featuring Valbuena.

Second place is the prize on offer to the winner of that game, while Monaco can climb into the European places if they win at Bordeaux.

On Saturday, Paris Saint-Germain extended their lead at the top of the table to 11 points by thumping hapless Toulouse 5-0 to continue their unbeaten start to the domestic season.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice, and now has nine goals in his last six Ligue 1 appearances, with Angel Di Maria, Lucas Moura and Ezequiel Lavezzi also on target at the Parc des Princes.

Caen are second in the table after beating Guingamp 2-1 in Normandy with burly striker Andy Delort scoring what proved to be the winning goal.

Source: AFP