BASEL/MARSEILLE, Mar 9 (SW) - Basel and Zenit St. Petersburg both overcame their French opposition on Thursday, claiming UEFA Cup Round of 16 first-leg wins over Strasbourg and Marseille respectively.

Basel - Strasbourg 2-0

Strasbourg, whose struggles in Ligue 1 this season have been well-documented, were overmatched by Swiss champions Basel at St. Jakob Park.

Matías Delgado opened the scoring for the home side after just eight minutes with a beautiful free kick after he was taken down in a dangerous position.

Basel, who dominated the possession battle in the match, added a crucial second goal just before the match went into second-half added time when Zdravko Kuzmanovic headed home from a Delgado free kick to ensure they had a bigger cushion ahead of the second leg.

Marseille - Zenit St. Petersburg 0-1

Marseille, who earned an away draw with PSG by fielding their B-side over the weekend, were not so fortunate with their senior squad as they were defeated by Russian side Zenit at the Stade Vélodrome.

Russian international Andrei Arshavin fired the visitors into the lead after 51 minutes when he blasted a shot from 20 yards beyond goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, and the home side finished up with just ten men after Franck Ribéry got his second yellow card of the match in the 70th minute.