PARIS (AP) — Marseille shrugged off its dire European form by scraping past struggling Strasbourg 1-0 to move to fourth place in the French league on Friday.
Defeat at Porto this week was Marseille's record-equaling 12th straight loss in the Champions League.
Marseille needed to appease its unhappy fans, but had to wait until the 72nd minute for a breakthrough. Playmaker Dimitri Payet’s cross was headed back by striker Dario Benedetto to midfielder Morgan Sanson, who finished powerfully from the edge of the penalty area.
In a dull encounter without fans because of the coronavirus pandemic, Strasbourg left back Anthony Caci hit the crossbar early in the second half.
Strasbourg's loss leaves it languishing in 19th place.
On Saturday, league leader Paris Saint-Germain seeks an eighth straight league win when it hosts third-place Rennes, which beat PSG last season and in the previous season's French Cup final.
PSG will be missing star forwards Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, who are both injured.
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