Perfect start for Marseille
Marseille humbled newly-promoted side Guingamp 3-1 in the French league on Sunday, with new signing Dimitri Payet scoring twice on his debut.
It was a dismal return to the top flight for Guingamp, runners-up to Monaco in Ligue 2 last season, as they found themselves 0-3 down after a quarter of an hour following several defensive mistakes.
Andre-Pierre Gignac scored an early opener for Marseille before a swift double for Payet, who was signed from Ligue 1 rivals Lille in the off-season.
Guingamp had a chance to get back into the game early in the second half but Mustapha Yatabare saw his penalty saved after Souleymane Diawara was harshly adjudged to have fouled Steeven Langil.
However, Marseille were eventually made to pay for their frailty in defence — which will be of concern to coach Elie Baup — as Yatabare scored in the 74th minute.
Earlier, Saint-Etienne strolled to a 1-0 win at Ajaccio as Fabrizio Ravanelli’s first match in charge of the Corsican side ended in disappointment.
“We did very well in the first half, we could have even scored a fourth or a fifth goal,” Baup said.
“Then it became more difficult, and we left a lot of open spaces for our opponents. There are a lot of things to correct but it’s good to have started by scoring three goals.
“It’s normal, it’s only the first match, there’s a lot of work to be done but I saw good things in our attacking approach and the way we kept the ball.”
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