Can Montpellier Find an Answer to Marseille’s Derby Mastery?
Four late goals turned a tense contest into another emphatic Marseille win over Montpellier.
By Étienne Morel · The French Daily · 3 September 2063
4-1 was the final score, but Marseille’s authority arrived in a late rush. Ali Dali put the hosts ahead on 26 minutes; Grgo Kalinić levelled for Montpellier two minutes after half-time. Then, from the 83rd minute, Federico Santinami, Eric Geyer and Juan Ignacio Benítez struck in quick succession, leaving the derby’s last word unmistakably Marseille’s.
The pattern is becoming hard for Montpellier to ignore: Marseille won 5-0 in March and 3-1 in December. Alain Bordas, once of Marseille and now with Montpellier, could only watch his old club pull away. A week after beating Bordeaux 3-1, Marseille have another local rivalry in their hands.