Ligue 1 wrap: Marseille break Ajaccio resolve

Marseille moved level with PSG on top of the Ligue 1 table with a victory over AC Ajaccio on Sunday, while Lyon won their clash with Bastia.

AC Ajaccio kept Marseille at bay for the entire first half, until Andre Ayew put Marseille ahead early in the second half.

The Ghanaian struck in the 55th minute with his first Ligue 1 goal of the season, taking advantage of a defensive lapse by Mehdi Mostefa.

Despite Ajaccio resistance, it would be substitute and younger brother Jordan Ayew who sealed the win three minutes from the end as Marseille triumphed 2-0.

Marseille are now equal with PSG at the summit of Ligue 1 with 22 points and also have the bonus of a game in hand.

Meanwhile, Lyon came out on top in a thrilling 5-2 victory over a spirited Bastia side at Stade Gerland as the match ended with two red cards and three penalties.

Yoann Gourcuff returned to star for the hosts, in his first league start since mid-August, and proved to be the difference as Lyon surged to a 2-0 lead thanks to Maxime Gonalons, and a fantastic strike by Alexandre Lacazette.

Chaos ensued as Bastia roared back.

Firstly, Wahib Khazri immediately reduced the deficit, after converting from Yannick Cahuzac’s weighted pass, before Dejan Lovren saw red for bringing down Florian Thauvin seconds later, as Jerome Rothen tucked away the penalty to make it 2-2.

In the second half, Fathi Harek was shown a second yellow after being stretchered off after causing himself injury in the foul on Lacazette, before Lisandro made it 3-2 from the spot.

Jimmy Briand struck Lyon’s fourth and another penalty from Steed Malbranque – both in stoppage time – ensured an entertaining win for Lyon ahead of their Europa League clash against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames.

And finally, Toulouse missed the chance to join Marseille and PSG at the top of the table, as they were beaten 1-0 by Bordeaux in a dull Garonne derby.

Jaroslav Plasil and Benoit Tremoulinas were the liveliest players in a competitive first half, which only sprung into action when Ali Ahamada produced a fine double stop to deny Gregory Sertic.

After the break, the game was noticeably cagey, though Etienne Capoue was defensively solid in denying Bordeaux.

Yann Gouffran tested Ahamada, before finally beating the France under-21 goalkeeper late on, latching onto Plasil’s measured pass in the 87th minute to steal victory.

Bordeaux focus now on Europa League duty against Maritimo, while Alain Casanova will lament his side’s late capitulation.