Sorin gives PSG win over Marseille
PARIS, France (Reuters) -- An extra-time header from Argentine Juan Pablo Sorin gave Paris St Germain a 2-1 win over arch-rivals Marseille and a place in the French Cup third round on Saturday.
Sorin scored in the 112th minute to seal PSG's fifth consecutive victory over Marseille.
"I'm really proud of my team," said PSG coach Vahid Halilhodzic. "It was a very tricky game because we were under heavy pressure form the start but we deserved to win."
PSG had won their previous four meetings with Marseille in the last two seasons and, despite being given the Stade Velodrome's traditional hot reception, they opened the scoring after only nine minutes through Pedro Pauleta.
The Portugal striker darted between Marseille central defenders Philippe Christanval and Daniel Van Buyten, chested down a long through pass and blasted the ball inside Fabien Barthez's right post to silence the 59,000 crowd.
However, the stadium erupted when Didier Drogba levelled in the 34th minute after a swift counter attack. The Ivory Coast striker ran through the PSG defence and caught goalkeeper Lionel Letizi off balance to equalise.
The tension rose and there were several skirmishes but referee Eric Poulat manged to restore calm after halftime.
Pauleta missed a golden opportunity when he blasted the ball wide after being set up in the penalty area in the 50th minute and three minutes later the PSG striker left the field because of a wrist injury and was replaced by Brazilian Reinaldo.
Barthez saved his shaky defence on the hour when Sorin ran clear on goal but the fullback took his revenge 12 minutes into extra time with a close range header from a Reinaldo cross that gave the former Manchester United goalkeeper no chance.
The potentially explosive clash was spared any crowd trouble with only minor incidents reported around the Stade Velodrome.
Two policemen were slightly injured in clashes with PSG supporters in Avignon city centre, where the fans had stopped on their way to the match, but police said there were no arrests and the eight buses were allowed to continue their journey.
Copyright 2004
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
