Barthez makes winning return to Marseille

Goalkeeper Fabien Barthez celebrated his Olympique Marseille return by saving twice and scoring once as his team beat RC Strasbourg…

Goalkeeper Fabien Barthez celebrated his Olympique Marseille return by saving twice and scoring once as his team beat RC Strasbourg 4-3 on penalties in their French Cup first round tie today.

The sides had been deadlocked at 1-1 after extra time before Barthez palmed away Strasbourg's third kick and then dived full length to block a powerful shot from Senegalese striker Mamadou Diang.

Barthez, France's international goalkeeper, applied the finishing touch by taking his team's last penalty shot and blasting the ball past Richard Dutruel.

A 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 winner, Barthez won the 1993 European Cup with Marseille in the first of his three seasons at the club.

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He left for a five-year spell at Monaco before moving to Manchester United in 2000. The 32-year-old has won two league titles with United, but was dropped by manager Alex Ferguson at the tail-end of last season.

Marseille and United reached agreement on a nine-month loan transfer in October, but FIFA blocked the move because it had not been registered during the transfer window.