Garde loving the view from the top

Lyon coach Remi Garde insists his team deserve to be top of Ligue 1 after their resounding victory at Marseille.

France international striker Bafetimbi Gomis hit a hat-trick at the Stade Velodrome as the visitors romped to a 4-1 win.

Lyon now lead PSG and Marseille by two points after 14 matches of the season.

“It was a good game. The team played well. What we did not do three days ago at Toulouse, we did tonight. We have been really efficient but I think overall we deserved to win,” Garde said.

“I think we created many problems for Marseille, Marseille created some for us at the beginning of the game. But then we reacted well. We replied mentally and played our game.

“I want to highlight the good defensive work done by our forwards. They pressured Marseille a lot and then broke forward quickly, it was interesting.”

Lyon’s next clash is against defending champions Montpellier on Saturday and Garde is hoping his side can continue their good form and maintain top spot on the table.

“Look, I’m really happy to be league leaders, I think the players are as well. We were already leaders 10 days ago, but we didn’t stay there long,” he said.

“We know it can be different after the next match because the gap isn’t great. We are happy, there is no luck, if we are where we are it’s because we deserve it.

“The league is far from over, we still have tough games to come, especially away from home. But we are moving forward little by little. We are where we expected to be so we are really happy.”

Marseille coach Elie Baup was disappointed with the performance, but remains confident his side will bounce back from the heavy defeat when they travel to Brest on Sunday.

“As a whole, the defeat is really hard to take. That penalty (by Bafetimbi Gomis) at the beginning of the match and then the red card for Rod Fanni at the end summed up a bad result for us. It is a really nasty night to experience,” he said.

“We won’t forget our performances in the 13 previous games. Again, it’s a nasty night, we did not play well and some decisions made by the referee were questionable. But now what I want is to focus on the next game – we need to move on quickly.

“I think we need to secure a positive result against Brest next. Lyon lost 3-0 at Toulouse, and they came back here today with a lot of pride and dignity. We need to show that kind of reaction on Sunday.

“Today, our position in the table is one thing but what’s important is the amount of points. It’s also about how we react; we have to get as many points as possible before the winter break. We have to recover well, and that’s the most important thing for me.”