PARIS (AFP) - Marseille lost 1-0 at home to lowly Sochaux in the French league on Saturday night to add to recent exits in cup competitions to pile the pressure on coach Eric Gerets.

On Wednesday, Marseille were knocked out of the French Cup 1-0 by fifth division opposition in amateur side Carquefou, a week after they had exited from the UEFA Cup to unfancied St Petersburg.

Marseille attacked Sochaux strongly at the end, just like they had against Carquefou, who pulled off one of the biggest shocks in French Cup history.

Marseille, who had been on a run of eight consecutive victories at home, finally came to a halt not for lack of effort but more of organisation as they went forward energetically without a clear pattern of play.

Gerets said afterwards: "I'm really disappointed with the result because overall I thought the players showed they were hungry to win and did not merit this defeat.

"We had chances and in the changing rooms the players were saying they would fight till the end which was a really positive attitude. Let's not blame the players tonight because they fought hard. Sochaux scored on one of their rare opportunities and that was hard to take."

Marseille remained in fourth spot, good enough for a UEFA Cup spot next season, however they lost a bit of ground on the leading three, who would qualify for the Champions League, as third-placed Nancy won 2-1 at home to Metz.

Second-placed Bordeaux lost the chance to gain a bit of ground on leaders Lyon with a 3-1 defeat at Valenciennes, meaning six-time reigning champions Lyon have the chance to increase the six-point gap at home to Paris Saint Germain in Sunday's late game.

Marseille were booed as the teams were presented at the start of the match and afterwards must have blamed the performances of below-par players Djibril Cisse and Sami Nasri who did not enhance their reputations as they failed to convert the numerous scoring chances.

Sochaux however had the best possible match to give them hope of a late-season recovery with an impressive physical presence in the ball-winning area of the game.

Marseille had been hoping to redeem themselves in front of demanding fans but instead suffered the worst possible scenario of conceding an early goal after just three minutes.

N'Daw made the most of lost possession by Charles Kabore ran right down the middle and beat Marseille keeper Steve Mandanda, who was off his line, with a 25-metre lob.

N'Daw missed a second great chance on the quarter-hour and Nicolas Maurice-Belay also could have doubled Sochaux's score minutes later.

The match was mostly about Marseille however and Modeste M'Bami and Kabore had an impressive game. It was just up front where the ball just would not go into the net.

In the final quarter-hour, Cisse missed two great chances and Elliot Grandin another for Marseille though it has to be said Sochaux could have got a second late on through either Mevlud Erding from close in or Stephane Dalmat from a longer-range effort.

There was further bad news for Gerets after the game when it was revealed striker Mathieu Valbuena would be out of action for at least a week with a groin problem, meaning he would not feature in the midweek friendly against England at the Stade de France.

Gerets said: "He (Valbuena) tried to play but after 25 minutes he did not feel at all good. It's a pity for him because it was his first selection for the national team and he will also be unavailable to play next week against Lorient."