Alexis Sanchez, Tavares’ Marseille thrash Pepe, Schmeichel in Nice

Marseille wasn’t nice at all after a convincing and outstanding first-half display propelled them to a comfortable 3-0 win over Nice.

No fewer than 10 former Premier League players featured in the game with two of them, Nicolas Pepe of Arsenal, and Manchester United’s Eric Bailly, making their debuts on Sunday.

But it ended in heavy defeat for Pepe, who started and finished the game while his compatriot, Bailly, was a second-half substitute for the visitors.

The afternoon, however, belonged to two players who also have links to Arsenal, former Gunner Alexis Sanchez, and on-loan defender, Nuno Tavares.

Sanchez and Tavares were in superb form as they inspired Marseille to the top of the Ligue 1 with a third win of the season.

An excellent first-half display saw Sanchez score a brace while Tavares added a brilliant third for Marseille.

The former Gunner opened the scoring in the 10th minute before Tavares doubled the lead in the 37th with a delicious strike from out the box.

Sanchez added a third after former Leicester City goalkeeper, Kasper Schmeichel, parried a Tavares effort into the path of the Chilean, who made no mistakes from close range.

Other Premier League stars who featured in the game include former West Ham United playmaker, Dmitri Payet, Mattel Guendouzi, Sean Kolasinac, Aaron Ramsey, Chancel Mbemba, and goalkeeper, Paul Lopez.

Despite the heavy defeat on his debut, Ivorian International Pepe showed some nice flashes of his old self in the game.

He created three chances, made three key passes, attempted four shots, and had 70 touches but struggled to beat his markers.

Marseille moves up to the top of the Ligue 1 at least for now after the win on 10 points. They have won three and drawn one of their opening four games.

For Nice, the defeat leaves them with just two points from a possible 12 in the opening four games of the season and drops them into the dreaded relegation waters.