Marseille drop points at home to winless Angers in feisty encounter

Tom Thornton

Marseille's Leonardo Balerdi goes for a header against AngersMiguel Medina / AFP

Both Marseille and Angers were reduced to 10 men in an ill-tempered 1-1 draw at the Orange Vélodrome, as the hosts missed out on the chance to climb into Ligue 1's top-two thanks to a second consecutive winless outing.

Roberto De Zerbi’s men were looking to get back to winning ways following their first defeat of the season against Strasbourg, but the Olympians struggled in a first half of few chances.

It looked as though the hosts had lift-off when, in the 26th minute, a rash challenge from Lilian Rao-Lisoa earned him a red card, reducing the struggling visitors to 10 men.

However, just as they had done against Nice and Lyon, Marseille were also unable to keep their discipline as Neal Maupay was dismissed just four minutes later - receiving two yellow cards in the space of three minutes.

With neither outfit able to muster any quality going forward before the break, changes were made by both managers.

De Zerbi’s substitution paid off almost immediately, as the hosts hit the front within six minutes of the restart.

Angers failed to clear the lines, and the ball was kept alive on the edge of the box by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. His interception fell at the feet of Jonathan Rowe, who showed no hesitation in turning and firing low beyond Yahia Fofana’s reach to break the deadlock.

That goal awakened Angers, who despite offering very little prior to conceding, drew level within three minutes of falling behind.

Farid El Melali stood over a 30-yard free kick, and his short run-up may have fooled Geronimo Rulli in goal, who looked on hopelessly as the thunderous strike nestled into the bottom corner.

Marseille appeared shell-shocked and could’ve even been behind when El Melali dragged fractionally wide moments later.

The Olympians regrouped and thought they’d edged ahead for the second time on the night when Michael Murillo headed home, only for their celebrations to be cut short after VAR ruled the goal out for handball.

Marseille were consequently left frustrated as their three-match head-to-head winning streak came to an end, while a point is a bonus for basement boys Angers, even if they are still waiting for their first victory of the Ligue 1 season.