Bielsa laments lack of Marseille control

Bielsa was frustrated by his team's failure to regularly maintain possession in midfield, while he never felt confident of securing the three points after Marseille went 2-1 ahead, as Metz spent long periods camped in the home side's half.

While Dimitri Payet scored a match-clinching goal for Marseille in second-half stoppage time, Bielsa claimed there was little to like about his side's performance.

"It's a game where we struggled to play well," the Argentine coach said.

"Winning, that was necessary; [it] provides satisfaction - more to the result than the manner."

The statistics did not exactly back up Bielsa's appraisal of the match - Marseille had 62 per cent possession and took 16 shots to Metz's 14 - but the 59-year-old coach was clearly unimpressed.

After Andre-Pierre Gignac gave the home side the lead with a header two minutes before half-time, Florent Malouda equalised for Metz with a deflected effort in the 46th minute.

Marseille hit the front again just before the hour-mark, with Andre Ayew converting after Alaixys Romao hit the post, before Payet wrapped up the win in the 92nd minute with a delicate chip.

"In the second half we improved just after the equaliser. At 2-1, the game was balanced until the end," Bielsa said.

"Metz has been in our camp and we counter-attacked. We had dangerous actions but our way of playing was not clear."

Bielsa added: "We managed to have counter-attacks in the first half but we lost the ball too much in the middle."

The win took Marseille back to the top of Ligue 1 with 38 points, one ahead of reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, while Metz (19) sit 13th after their winless run extended to five games.