Marseille's Brazilian defender Vitorino Hilton, right, reacts with fellow team members Brandao, left, and Stephane Mbia, center, after scoring a goal against FC Zurich, during their Champions League Group C soccer match, at the Velodrome Stadium, in Marseille, southern France, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009. AP Photo/Claude Paris)

Marseille trounces Zurich 6-1 in Champions League

MARSEILLE, France (AP) Marseille trounced FC Zurich 6-1 on Tuesday to keep alive its chances of qualifying for the knockout round of the Champions League.

Marseille has six points from four games in Group C but is a point behind AC Milan and Real Madrid. Zurich is last with three points.

"Of course I still believe in our chances," Marseille president Jean-Claude Dassier said. "This won't be an easy task and we'll have to win our two next games."

Marseille, which won the inaugural Champions League in 1993, travels to Milan next before hosting Madrid in its last group match.

Midfielder Silvan Aegerter's own-goal in the third minute put the home side ahead before Fabrice Abriel doubled the lead in the 11th minute with a free kick.

Zurich striker Alexandre Alphonse narrowed the gap in the 31st, but Marseille captain Mamadou Niang restored a two-goal lead in the 51st.

Vitorino Hilton, Benoit Cheyrou and Brazilian striker Brandao completed the rout in the last 10 minutes.

"We started this match very well," Marseille coach Didier Deschamps said. "It's not common to score six goals in a Champions League game. The important thing was to let go and I think the players played more freely tonight."

With playmaker Lucho Gonzalez sidelined with a hand injury, Deschamps started with Abriel in the midfield while Souleymane Diawara returned from suspension in defense.

Abriel immediately rewarded his coach's confidence with a free kick from the left that was deflected into his own goal by Aegerter.

Zurich, which won 1-0 at AC Milan in September, was handed a further blow when striker Johann Vonlanthen was forced to leave the field five minutes later following a challenge by Argentina defender Gabriel Heinze.

Abriel doubled his team's lead in the 11th with a free kick untouched into the goal although three Marseille players were in an offside position.

Marseille had another clear chance when midfielder Benoit Cheyrou fired an angled shot that forced Zurich goalkeeper Johnny Leoni to a good save in the 17th minute, just before Brazilian forward Brandao, unmarked at the penalty spot, fluffed his shot and sent the ball over the bar.

Marseille, which failed to keep a clean sheet at home since Aug. 30, peppered the box with useless crosses and let their rivals come back in the game following a nice collective move concluded by French striker Alexandre Alphonse, who slotted home with a right-footed shot from the edge of the box past goalkeeper Steve Mandanda in the 31st.

Its confidence boosted, Zurich looked more threatening and Nigerian midfielder Onyekachi Okonkwo nearly silenced the home crowd in the 34th with a 25-meter (yard) shot that went just wide.

But Niang gave his team some breathing room after the interval when he latched onto the ball between two defenders and chipped the ball over Leoni following a one-two with Bakary Kone in the 51st minute.

Far from being discouraged, Zurich kept attacking and had a clear chance in the 65th but a last-minute tackle from defender Garry Bocaly stopped Admir Mehmedi, who had eluded Mandada in the box.

Marseille finally tore Zurich apart in the last 10 minutes, with Hilton scoring in the 80th with a low shot from close range following a bad clearance from Zurich's defense. Cheyrou then slotted home with a superb 30-meter (yard) strike in the 87th and Brandao capped his team's scoring with a clinical finish from Niang's cross.

Updated November 3, 2009