Marseille triumph at Rennes to strengthen hold on 2nd place in French league

PARIS: Defender Sead Kolasinac scored the winner Sunday as Marseille beat Rennes 1-0 to post a seventh consecutive away win in the French league and strengthen their bid for Champions League football next season.

Marseille traveled to Brittany on the back of a shock elimination in the French Cup midweek against second-tier Annecy, which followed a bitter 3-0 home loss to Paris Saint-Germain that badly damaged their hopes of winning the league title. Leaders PSG beat Nantes 4-2 on Saturday and have an eight-point lead over Marseille.