Saif-Eddine Khaoui scored twice as Marseille beat Nice 3-2 at home Wednesday to snap a seven-game winless run and move up to sixth place in the French league.
Central defender Alvaro Gonzalez scored early in the first half and Khaoui added the second just before the break to put Marseille 2-0 up, both netting their first goals of the season.
Click to Gallery
Saif-Eddine Khaoui scored twice as Marseille beat Nice 3-2 at home Wednesday to snap a seven-game winless run and move up to sixth place in the French league.
Forward Amine Gouiri pulled a goal back one minute into the second half and, after Khaoui had made it 3-1 with a powerful strike from just inside the penalty area, Gouiri set up substitute Malik Sellouki in the 86th.
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Nice's Amine Gouiri celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the French League One soccer match between Olympique de Marseille and Nice at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, southern France, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)
Nice's Amine Gouiri, center, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the French League One soccer match between Olympique de Marseille and Nice at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, southern France, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)
But Nice showed just why it was unlucky to lose 2-1 at defending champion Paris Saint-Germain last weekend with a strong reaction.
Marseille's Saif-Eddine Khaoui, right, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the French League One soccer match between Olympique de Marseille and Nice at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, southern France, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)
Forward Amine Gouiri pulled a goal back one minute into the second half and, after Khaoui had made it 3-1 with a powerful strike from just inside the penalty area, Gouiri set up substitute Malik Sellouki in the 86th.
Then, in the fifth and final minute of injury time, the impressive Gouiri stuck a free kick which rattled the Marseille crossbar at an empty Stade Velodrome.
Despite two good performances, Nice finds itself mired in 14th place and only seven points above the relegation zone after 25 of 38 matches.
Marseille's Saif-Eddine Khaoui, second right, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the French League One soccer match between Olympique de Marseille and Nice at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, southern France, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Marseille's Saif-Eddine Khaoui, left, celebrates with Marseille's Dimitri Payet after scoring his side's second goal during the French League One soccer match between Olympique de Marseille and Nice at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, southern France, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)
Nice's Amine Gouiri celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the French League One soccer match between Olympique de Marseille and Nice at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, southern France, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)
Nice's Amine Gouiri, center, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the French League One soccer match between Olympique de Marseille and Nice at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, southern France, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)