Marseille’s Spanish defender Alvaro Gonzalez (L) vies for the ball with Saint-Etienne’s French forward Charles Abi (R) during the French L1 football match between AS Saint-Etienne (ASSE) and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at the Geoffroy Guichard stadium in Saint-Etienne on May 9, 2021.
JEFF PACHOUD / AFP

Marseille lost more precious points in their quest for European football next season after going down to a drab 1-0 defeat by Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1 action on Sunday.

Arnaud Nordin scored the decisive goal at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, latching on to a Wahbi Khazri cross at the end of the first half.

The result leaves Marseille in fifth position, equal with sixth-placed Lens on 56 points, while Rennes are two points further adrift in seventh ahead of their home match against reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain later Sunday.

Only the top three qualify for Champions League next season, while the fourth-placed team is entered into the Europa League. The fifth-placed team goes into the newly-established Europa Conference League.

On Saturday Lyon moved into the Champions League places and kept their slim Ligue 1 title hopes alive as midfielder Bruno Guimaraes scored twice in a 4-1 victory over Lorient.

Leaders Lille beat Lens 3-0 on Friday, while second-placed PSG can move within a point of Lille when they travel to face Rennes on Sunday.

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