Sunday 3 December 2017 23:03, UK
Florian Thauvin's first-half penalty rescued a point for Marseille as they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at Montpellier.
Former Newcastle midfielder Thauvin's spot-kick on the stroke of half-time cancelled out Giovanni Sio's opener as both sides extended their respective unbeaten runs in Ligue 1.
Marseille had been hoping to make up ground on leaders Paris Saint-Germain following their surprise defeat at Strasbourg on Saturday, but while fellow rivals Monaco and Lyon both had weekend wins, Marcelo Bielsa's men were left hanging on for a point.
Lyon bounced back to winning ways as Maxwel Cornet and Mariano were both on target in a 2-1 win at Caen.
Bruno Genesio's side, who slipped to their first Ligue 1 defeat in nine games last week at home against Lille, registered their fifth win on the road this season to maintain their Champions League challenge.
Former Manchester United winger Memphis Depay set up both goals, with Cornet converting into the bottom corner from inside the penalty area in the 10th minute and Mariano burying a low finish early in the second half.
Home striker Ivan Santini struck in the last minute to ensure an anxious four minutes of time added on for Lyon, but they held on to keep the pressure on rivals Monaco and Marseille, while Caen stay seventh in the table.
Emiliano Sala rescued a point for Nantes as they lost further ground on Ligue 1's top four after drawing 1-1 at St Etienne.
Nantes, who had lost three of their five previous league games, beat champions Monaco last week, but were left to rue a string of second-half misses after Sala had cancelled out Vincent Pajot's first-half opener for St Etienne.
Midfielder Bryan Dabo's first-half shot hit the crossbar for the home side before Pajot crashed a right-footed shot into the top corner to give St Etienne a deserved half-time lead.
Nantes were much improved in the second period and after several near misses equalised through Sala's 61st-minute header, while both sides spurned chances to snatch a winner.
