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Striker Didier Drogba hit his sixth goal in three matches to set up Olympique Marseille's 3-1 victory over Bastia on Sunday which cut Monaco's lead in Ligue 1 to one point.
Drogba, who hit a hat-trick in Marseille's 3-0 midweek defeat of Partizan Belgrade in the Champions League, made the most of a poor defensive header by Pascal Chimbonda, arriving before goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau to score in the 16th minute.
Monaco have 22 points and Olympique Marseille 21. Champions Olympique Lyon are on 17 points, and Nantes and Paris St Germain have 16.
ADVERTISEMENT
Monaco, reduced to 10 men for the whole of the second half, hung on to beat
En Avant Guingamp 2-1 on Saturday. Ticketmaster
At Marseille's Stade Velodrome, Drogba's strike partner Steve Marlet made it 2-0 five minutes after the Ivorian's opener with a header from a free kick by Camel Meriem and Marseille cruised to halftime.
Bastia fought back after the break, scoring through striker Frederic Nee whose shot, following a fine pass by Florian Maurice, dribbled inside the Marseille post in the 50th minute.
But Marseille regained control of the game in the 66th minute with a goal by Czech midfielder Rudolf Skacel after a cross was half-cleared to the edge of the area and, after chances at both ends, maintained their 100 percent home record.
Drogba nearly missed the game after being injured in training on Saturday. He was substituted early in the second half. Ticketmaster
On Saturday Lyon beat AC Ajaccio 4-2 thanks to a hat-trick by Peguy Luyindula whileParis St Germain ended Sochaux's run of 29 home games without defeat with a 1-0 win following a goal by Portuguese striker Pauleta.