Paris, April 17 (BNA): Vitina scored his first goal for Olympique de Marseille as they thrashed strugglers Troyes 3-1 to advance to second place in the Ligue 1 standings on Sunday.
The Portuguese striker, who joined in January, scored alongside Cengiz Under to put Igor Tudor’s side on 64 points with seven games remaining.
Leaders Paris Saint-Germain trailed by eight points after the capital’s victory over RC Linz, who ranks third, with 63 points, 3-1, on Saturday, according to Reuters.
Monaco ranks fourth with 61 points after beating Lorient 3-1 at home, with the race for second place and direct qualification to the Champions League group stage heating up.
Vitina, who had not scored in his first six matches since joining from Braga on January 31, scored early to give OM a great start.
He took the lead in the second minute when Vitina hit a beautiful shot under the crossbar, having reached the area.
The hosts doubled their lead four minutes before half-time as he found the rarest net from inside the penalty area after being sent in by Valentin Rongier.
Lille are narrowly fifth with 55 points after winning 2-1 at home against Montpellier.
And earlier on Sunday, Nantes coach Antoine Compoir was furious after a 2-1 defeat by AJ Auxerre left the Canaries, French Cup finalists, in 15th place, two points above the relegation zone.
The bottom four teams will be relegated at the end of the season as Ligue 1 has been reduced from 20 to 18 teams.
WWA