Marseille's one shot on target a stunning winner
A rejigged Marseille was forced to dig deep for a narrow 1-0 win over Strasbourg in Ligue 1 on Saturday (AEDT).
A thunderous strike from Morgan Sanson sealed three precious points against the run of play, and it was in fact Marseille's only shot on target across the entire match.
The result gives Marseille coach Andre Villas-Boas a little relief after his team lost 3-0 at Porto in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday (AEDT).
Marseille climbed to within three points of Ligue 1 leader Paris Saint-Germain, with all the top outfits on nine games ahead of PSG's clash with third-placed Rennes on Sunday (AEDT).
PSG leads Ligue 1 with 21 points, Lille has 19 and Rennes and Marseille both have 18.
The acrobatic 72nd minute shot from the edge of the area from midfielder Sanson was set up by Dimitri Payet, who had come on as a substitute with 20 minutes remaining at a cold, windy and empty Stade de la Meinau.
Payet replaced former Newcastle United player and France international Florian Thauvin, who was playing his 200th game for Marseille.
After a miserable first half without a single shot on target from either side Strasbourg defender Anthony Caci hit the crossbar with a deflected shot just ahead of the hour.
The visitors also appealed for a penalty when the ball appeared to hit Stefan Mitrovic's hand but the referee waved play on.
Strasbourg coach Thierry Laurey is currently sidelined with COVID-19 and his side is second bottom on six points from 10 games.
