Baup lauds fast Marseille start

Marseille head coach Elie Baup praised his side’s quick start in their 3-1 win away to Guingamp on the opening day of Ligue 1.

Andre-Pierre Gignac and a double from new signing Dimitri Payet within the opening 20 minutes were enough to secure the points for Marseille, despite Mustapha Yatabare’s consolation strike in the second half.

It could have been a different story had Yatabare converted a penalty for the home soon after the interval, but Marseille ran out comfortable winners.

And Baup was happy with the application of his players.

“The game started well for us,” he said. “We were 3-0 up in no time at all and that was important. We could even have scored a fourth or fifth goal in the first half.

“The second half was certainly more difficult. We left more spaces for the opposition to play. There are still a lot of things to work on but it is great to have scored three goals in our opening game.

“We were not easing off, we just have to find our fitness for the whole game and keep playing at a good pace. We also have to be fit and be able to play until the very last minute.

“There is nothing surprising about that as it is the first game and there is still a lot of work to do. But in regards to our football today, especially offensively, there are a lot of positives.”