Marseille fumble as race for CL qualification tightens in France

Olympique de Marseille dropped points for the third week in a row as they went down 1-0 to AS Monaco.

It was their second defeat in three games. They have now dropped to third in the league standings. Nice moved into the second spot courtesy of Andy Delort's late winner against league leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

Despite the defeat, PSG are looking solid up top, making the race for the two other CL spots even more intriguing.

Marseille too sloppy yet again

Jorge Sampaoli's men have been complacement of late. Their lack of urgency and discipline saw them draw against Troyes last week.

Marseille's defense has come under heavy fire lately. They have proven to be susceptible against pacey counter-attacks.Their defeat to Clermon Foot and the draw against Troyes are testament to their leaky defense.

Both centre-backs (Alvaro Gonzalez and Deja Culeta-Car) have looked unsure at the back, which has forced the midfield to take on the extra burden of keeping cover at all times.

Despite dominating possession against AS Monaco, they managed to get only two shots on target. The majority of their possession came in non-threatening areas, proving that the club are now more keen on reassuring their backline rather than making dangerous forays into the opposition third.

Monaco were happy to let Marseille have the ball and attempted to catch them during the transition. That is exactly how they got their goal when Monaco's Youssaf Fofana caught the opposition defense off-guard, allowing Gelson Martins to tap in the winner.

Sampaoli's men left Stade Velodrome with zero points despite having more of the ball and control in the game.

Rennes sparking at the right time

Stade Rennais has become a regular contender for European spots lately. After making a slow start to the season, their 2-0 win against PSG saw them herald an impressive run of form.

Rennes made an impressive jump as they were sitting eighth in the league in November but are currently fourth after 27 games, two points adrift of Nice.

They have won four of their last five games, with their last victory coming against Angers on Sunday.

Strasbourg, on the other hand, have suffered courtesy of three draws in a row. Two weeks ago, they had a chance to climb to second in the table with Marseille dropping points against Clermont Foot. However, their stuttering form is a cause for concern given their unprecedented rise to the upper-echelons of French football this year.

As things stand, just five points separate second-placed NIce from fifth-placed Strasbourg with another eleven league games to go.