Ligue 1: Bastia beat Nice in ill-tempered clash

Bastia claimed a 2-1 comeback win over nine-man Nice in an ill-tempered match at Stade Armand-Cesari-Furiani which was briefly halted after fans threw balls onto the pitch.

Carlos Eduardo opened the scoring for Nice in the 18th minute but Bastia levelled less than 10 minutes later through Guillaume Gillet.

Nice were reduced to 10 men just before half-time when Gregoire Puel, son of coach Claude, was sent off for a nasty tackle on Gael Danic, with Giovanni Sio scoring the winning goal for the home side midway through the second half.

Les Aiglons finished the game with nine men after Souleymane Diawara was shown red for an elbow on Bastia striker Mathieu Peybernes.

The result lifted Bastia into the top half of the table while Nice are now just five points clear of the bottom three.

Bastia had a good early chance before Nice opened the scoring when Floyd Ayite forced a save from Nice goalkeeper Mouez Hassan in the fourth minute.

But it was Nice who took the lead when Eric Bautheac's corner was headed in by Eduardo from close range.

Gillet levelled for Bastia in the 26th minute after Ryad Boudebouz sent a free-kick into the box and found the midfielder, who headed past Hassan.

The advantage then swung in Bastia's favour when Gregoire Puel was sent off for fouling Danic a minute before the break.

Hassan denied Boudebouz from 20 yards out at full stretch just before the hour mark but Bastia got on the scoresheet again thanks to Sio, who received a perfect through-ball from Ayite and fired left-footed to beat Hassan.

The game was then halted for a few minutes as fans repeatedly threw balls onto the pitch and tempers again boiled over eight minutes from the end when Diawara was sent off for elbowing Peybernes, with Bastia holding on for victory.