Ancelotti flags Beckham first start

PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti said David Beckham may start in their Coupe de France clash against Marseille, after his Ligue 1 debut on Sunday.

PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti said David Beckham may start in their Coupe de France clash against Marseille, after his Ligue 1 debut on Sunday.

Les Parisiens emerged as 2-0 winners and extended their lead to three points over Lyon at the top, while effectively ending Marseille’s title charge.

And the former Chelsea manager said the 37-year-old could now be set for his first start, adding he had introduced Beckham with 15 minutes left to provide a fresh impetus of energy into his side.

“Beckham? He played because (Marco) Verratti was a bit tired after a lot of work. Maybe he will play on Wednesday in the Coupe de France,” he told Canal +.

The Italian also praised his side for their win but admitted they had improvements to make, adding: “This is a good result in a difficult match.

“We won three very important points. Marseille are now eight points behind us.

“We had a lot of difficulties. We defended a little deep. We have not mastered our possession game just yet.”

On his PSG bow, Beckham said it was special to celebrate his welcome to the club with a league victory.

“It was a special night for the team and for me,” Beckham told reporters after the match.

“I received a great welcome. To wear the jersey of PSG and get on to the pitch, it was all very special.

“To win against Marseille and increase our lead on them to eight points, this was a very important victory for us.”

Marseille coach Eli Baup said PSG shot-stopper Salvatore Sirigu was the match-winner for the Parisians.

“I think we deserved to level the scores at 1-1 and probably deserved a draw overall. Credit to Sirigu, who stopped a lot of balls,” Baup said.

“We had 60 percent possession through the game and also more passing success rates than PSG. They were a formidable opponent though and they attacked effectively and they were more clinical than us in front of goal.

“Since the beginning of the season, we have tried to get a run of form together. With this result, we are not advancing.

“However we have to take the lessons from this game and use them to improve in the coming weeks. We played well tonight despite the result and we must reproduce this kind of game to win points against whoever we play in future.”