Marseille's Ghanaian forward Jordan Ayew, left, and Marseille's Cameroonian defender Nicolas Nkoulou are seen at the end of their French League one soccer match against FC Valenciennes (Photo: AP)
Olympique Marseille slumped to their first defeat of the season when they suffered an embarrassing 4-1 loss to Valenciennes on Sunday.
Marseille have 18 points and still enjoy a three-point lead over second-placed Paris St Germain while third-placed Olympique Lyon (14 points) host Girondins Bordeaux later on Sunday. Valenciennes climbed to sixth on 11 points.
Marseille had the best defensive record before the kickoff with only one goal conceded in their six previous league matches but were sunk at Valenciennes's Stade du Hainaut in a torrid first half.
Gael Danic curled a free-kick into the near top corner in the 16th minute, the first time Marseille had fallen behind this season, and conceded another when Danic burst into the box and set up Anthony Le Tallec on 34 minutes.
Goalkeeper Steve Mandanda then made a complete mess of an underarm throw five minutes later and the ball landed by Foued Kadir, who fired home to make it 3-0.
Le Tallec wrapped the match up after the hour mark with a downward header before being replaced to a standing ovation five minutes from time. Marseille's Jordan Ayew scored a consolation goal in added time with a fine volley.
"It's a heavy defeat. We did not start the game well and then we missed a few opportunities to level for 1-1," Marseille coach Elie Baup told TV channel BeIN Sport.
"When you concede such a defeat it means that a lot of things went wrong. However, we need to put this aside and focus on a new week."
Marseille host Limassol FC in the Europa League on Thursday before they play arch-rivals Paris St Germain in Ligue 1 next Sunday.
"We have to look forward," said Baup. "We have two important games next week so let's analyse what went wrong."
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports)
Short link: