Olympique de Marseille lost more ground in their bid to play in Europe next season as a 1-1 draw at Lorient on Saturday extended their winless run in Ligue 1 to six matches.
Majeed Waris struck the opener on 34 minutes at the Stade Yves Allainmat as Walib Mesloub slipped in the Ghana striker to steer the ball beyond Steve Mandanda for his fourth goal in three games, but Chile international Mauricio Isla leveled for Marseille immediately after halftime when he fired through the legs of Lorient goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte from a narrow angle.
Mandanda was again superb in the Marseille goal, making a string of fine stops to keep the visitors in the game as l’OM drew 1-1 for the fifth straight outing.
Photo: AFP
“I’m not concerned, I’m annoyed, it’s different. When you’re the coach it’s difficult because you have to respect the players and not say too much, but I think now is the time where my players must learn about the club’s history, because after Waris scored our performance was a disgrace,” Marseille coach Michel said. “The results we’ve had aren’t by coincidence, everyone must face up to their responsibilities, including me.”
Marseille have lost just once in their past 17 league matches, but Michel’s side have won just four games in that time and are still six points behind fourth-placed Olympique Lyonnais, who were due to travel to Stade Rennais yesterday and who occupy what is currently the final European spot.
OGC Nice climbed above Lyon into third on Saturday after snapping Montpellier Herault’s five-match unbeaten run as goals from Valere Germain and Alassane Plea gave Claude Puel’s team a 2-0 victory.
AS Saint-Etienne’s top-three push was dealt a blow, though, as they were soundly beaten 2-0 at En Avant de Guingamp, with Stade Malherbe Caen also suffering a costly 1-0 defeat at relegation-threatened Gazelec Ajaccio.
Lille OSC notched just a second away win of the season as they edged past SC Bastia 2-1, while Toulouse boosted their slim survival hopes with a thumping 4-0 victory over 10-man Girondins de Bordeaux.
Paris Saint-Germain could clinch a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title yesterday with victory away to bottom side ESTAC Troyes after AS Monaco were held 2-2 at home by Stade de Reims on Friday.
Lyon would be looking to capitalize on Monaco’s slipup and pull to within four points in the race for the second automatic Champions League qualifying berth when they visited Roazhon Park yesterday.
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