Paris: Marseille and Lyon both lost ground in the French league title race by splitting the points in a 2-2 draw on Sunday.
Marseille midfielder Benoit Cheyrou fired into the bottom corner to open the scoring in the 16th minute. Brazilian striker Brandao volleyed home a cross from Morgan Amalfitano to double Marseille’s lead in the 34th.
Lyon pulled one back with a close-range effort from Bafetimbi Gomis in the 36th before leveling from an own goal by Marseille center back Souleymane Diawara in the 45th.
“We got off to a poor start,” Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris said. “We conceded two goals that were a bit stupid. We could have avoided the first goal.
“Both Lyon and Marseille don’t have much maneuvering room left.”
Lyon remained in fourth place, 10 points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain and one clear of Marseille.
“It’s a big disappointment for us,” Marseille midfielder Alou Diarra said. “We paid dearly for lacking focus for a split second and allowed Lyon to rally."
“We still have to go and get points to finish at least in third place.”
PSG defeated Evian 3-1 on Saturday to keep a three-point lead over second-place Montpellier at the top of the league.
Also Saturday, it was: Montpellier 1, Brest 0; Nancy 0, Rennes 0; Bordeaux 2, Toulouse 0; Dijon 1, Valenciennes 2; and Ajaccio 1, Nice 1.
Three games were postponed because of a frozen pitch following a cold snap.
Saturday’s match between Saint-Etienne and Lorient was abandoned after 10 minutes. Sunday’s matches pitting Sochaux against Lille and Caen against Auxerre were called off, too.
The French league has not set a new date for the postponed matches.
Marseille created the first chance in the second minute when fullback Jeremy Morel charged down the left flank to make a low cross for Morgan Amalfitano, who controlled the ball before curling a shot over the bar.
Lyon gave the hosts a scare in the ninth but Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda parried the point-blank shot from Gomis. Mandanda then intercepted a cross for an unmarked Lisandro Lopez in the following minute.
Marseille scored from a controversial play. Charles Kabore sent a ball over the top for Brandao, who missed his first touch. But Cheyrou pounced on a poor clearance from Lyon left back Aly Cissokho to flick home. However, TV replays showed Brandao was offside.
Brandao escaped Lyon defender Samuel Umtiti’s marking to add a second goal.
But Lyon cut Marseille’s lead two minutes later. Jimmy Briand redirected a corner with a backheel flick, and Gomis at the far post slammed the ball in.
Lyon equalized on the stroke of halftime when Diawara turned into his own net a cross from Cissokho.
“We can have regrets tonight,” Mandanda said. “We lacked focus when we led 2-0. We had this impression that the game was over. But unfortunately Lyon scored its first goal too quickly. Up 2-0, we must be able to protect that lead for a longer time.”
Marseille kept pressing to score the winning goal, but goalkeeper Lloris turned a volley from Diarra in the 61st around the post before saving a curling shot from Loic Remy in the 68th.
Cheyrou teed up Remy in the 87th, but the France forward’s volley lacked the power to beat Lloris.
Mandanda salvaged a point for Marseille with a reflex save in stoppage time, blocking Lopez’s shot from seven yards.
“Equalizing just before halftime was important,” Lyon coach Remi Garde said. “My team showed character. We lacked a bit of luck at the end, we could have taken the three points on the last chance.”
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.