New recruit Payet unable to save Marseille
AFP
AFP, METZ (FRANCE): Dimitri Payet made his Ligue 1 debut for Marseille on Friday but the star West Ham recruits appearance failed to pay off as his new employers lost 1-0 at Metz.
The 29-year-old midfielder had come on to a standing ovation in Tuesdays Cup tie against Lyon after 94 minutes with the game deadlocked 1-1 and heading into extra-time.
Marseille went on to win that 2-1 to book their ticket in the semi-finals, but his presence failed to help Marseilles fortunes this time.
He was introduced by Marseille coach Rudia Garcia in the 55th minute for Bouna Sarr with Bafetimbi Gomis, who scored a hat-trick last time out, replacing Florian Thauvin.
Seconds later Payet sent in a freekick headed in by Gomis only for the effort to be ruled offside.
Marseille, who trounced Montpellier 5-1 last week, looked to be heading for a point until Yann Joufre scored for the hosts five minutes after taking the place of Opa NGuette.
This eighth defeat of the season left Marseille in sixth, with Metz climbing out of the relegation zone.
Payet rejoined the Ligue 1 side on a four-and-a-half-year deal last Sunday after Marseille paid 30 million euros ($31.3 million, 25 million) to bring him back to the Stade Velodrome.
Marseille also signed veteran Patrice Evra, injured for this outing, on a free transfer from Juventus.
On Saturday, free-scoring Monaco led by Radamel Falcao and Mario Balotellis slick Nice side clash at the top of French Ligue 1.
Early pacesetters Nice have faltered of late allowing Monaco to move top of the table on goal difference on 49 points, with champions Paris Saint-Germain lurking in third on 46 ahead of their trip to Dijon.
Meanwhile, French clubs splashed out 156 million euros ($168 million) in the winter transfer window, third only to the big-spending Premier League and Chinese Super League, French league officials said on Friday.
The high-profile arrivals of Julian Draxler to Paris Saint-Germain, Memphis Depay to Lyon and Dimitri Payet to Marseille was proof that something is happening, Didier Quillot, executive director general of the French Professional Football League (LFP), said.
Last winter French sides spent a relatively measly 28 million euros.
English Premier League clubs emerged from the just-ended transfer window in the black for the first time but still shelled out more than 250 million euros on new players in January.
Chinese clubs spent 218 million euros, including an Asian-record 60 million euros when Oscar moved from Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG, according to the LFP.
PSG and Marseille were the biggest spenders in France, with the French champions forking out 40 million euros on German World Cup winner Draxler from Wolfsburg and 30 million for rangy Portuguese forward Goncalo Guedes from Benfica.
Marseille, freshly minted following a takeover by billionaire American Frank McCourt, stumped up 30 million euros to lure Payet back from West Ham. They also signed veteran Patrice Evra on a free from Juventus.
The French league trumped the German Bundesliga, whose clubs spent 97.35 million euros shattering the previous record in the winter transfer window there.
