Marseille defeat Ajaccio to climb fourth

Last season's runners-up Marseille, picked up their second straight Ligue 1 victory after a slump of seven matches without winning as they defeated Ajaccio 3-1 on Friday in Corsica. Dimitri Payet gave Elie Baup's men the ideal start with a 27th minute opener, only for Grenddy Perozo to level terms four minutes later. Former France international Andre-Pierre Gignac celebrated his recall to the side by restoring the visitors' lead six minutes before half-time before Florian Thauvin wrapped up maximum points on 58 minutes as Marseille climbed to fourth. Baup, who has seen his struggling outfit eliminated from Champions League action with two games to play in the group phase, received a welcome tonic following the international break as the Velodrome giants moved one point above Nantes. It was a tetchy encounter that featured five yellow cards, but only one against the 1993 European champions. Unbeaten Paris Saint-Germain continue to set the pace with the defending champions still seven points in front of their arch rivals Marseille ahead of their Saturday afternoon clash at Reims, a venue where they lost 1-0 last season. Third-placed Monaco travel to Nantes in the final match of the weekend on Sunday with the promoted clubs doing battle for the first time since returning to the top flight. Lille begin the weekend in second and four points adrift of PSG as they host Toulouse on Sunday. Source: AFP