PARIS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Marseille crushed Toulouse 4-0 at home in the 2018/19 Ligue 1 opener, seeing Video Assistant Referee (VAR) award a penalty late in the first half on Friday.
Marseille, which placed fourth last term, could not break down their opponents' defense until the final minute of the first half, when forward Valere Germain saw his header touch Kelvin Amian's arm.
Then match referee Ruddy Buquet pointed at the 12-yard spot after consulting to VAR, and Payet didn't waste the glorious chance to score the first goal of the campaign.
Marseille head coach Rudi Garcia dispatched Bouna Sarr in place of isolated Clinton Njie in the second half, which proved to be quite effective later on.
Although Sarr's shot was blocked by goalkeeper Baptiste Reynet with leg, Payet was on position to slot it home in the 62nd minute.
Reynet made two high-quality saves on Lucas Ocampos' overhead kick and Germain's attempt, but Germain still found the net after collecting Morgan Sanson's long pass with one minute from time.
World Cup winner Florian Thauvin, coming off the bench with less than 10 minutes to go, capped the home side's scoring two minutes into the stoppage time.
Last season's runners-up Monaco will visit Nantes on Saturday. Paris Saint-Germain will kick off their title defense campaign against Caen at the Parc des Princes on Sunday. Enditem
