Olympique de Marseille 1 - 0 Montpellier HSC (Coupe de la Ligue Final)

French side Olympique de Marseille became the first side in French footballing history to successfully retain the Coupe de la Ligue after beating Montepillier 1 - 0 at the Stade de France.


In a mostly scrappy and tight affair, chances were few and far between for both sides. It wasn't until ten minutes from time that Nigerian international defender Taye Taiwo managed to strike a rare right footed shot, following a very spotty and poor clearance following a free kick from the Montepiller defense.

Taiwo's strike has written I'OM into the French footballing history books, making them the first side to retain the Coupe de la Ligue successfully after beating Bordeaux 3–1 in last season's edition.

Watch Taiwo of I'OM secure historic win here



By Marcel Abboud

Champions League Matchday Six 2011 - Marseille vs Chelsea

The last matchday of the group stage of the Champions leauge will be completed tomorrow, however there are still some exciting ties in hand. One of those is definitely that between Chelsea and Marseille. Marseille have boasted strong form in France, however lost on the weekend resulting in their sixth loss in all competitions. They currently sit fourth in Ligue 1 and second in the group and are a safe bet for qualification to the last sixteen. Their last opponents Chelsea will look to turn around form which has robbed them of points and top sport in the Premier League. After a 1-1 draw with Everton on the weekend the Blues will come out attacking to prove they still have what it takes to not only win the Champions League but move up in the table in the Premier League.

Marseille Team News: Mbia is suspended which will mean he will not be avaliable for the dead rubber, although will be for the round of 16. Deschamps will look to employ the same 4-3-3 tactic and hope that the firepower seen against Zillina will hold true agains Chelsea.

Chelsea Team News: Anelka and Terry will be rested since qualification is assured. Which means Terry and Essien will feature, giving them much needed game time after their respective injuries. Alex's knee surgery will definitely see him out at least until January. Cech will be rested after sustaining injury at the match against Everton. Chelsea will be relying on their depth to reach the landmark 18 points by the end of the night

Match Prediction - Marseille 1 - Chelsea 3

What do you think? Comment with your prediction, those with correct predictions will have their chance to feature in the round of 16 blog?