Marseille
Marseille stutters ahead of Europa League final
Marseille

Marseille stutters ahead of Europa League final

Published May. 11, 2018 6:22 p.m. ET

GUINGAMP, France (AP) Ten-man Marseille was held to 3-3 at Guingamp in the French league on Friday just days before its Europa League final.

The result damaged Marseille's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, as it missed the chance to move to second in the league.

With just one match left, Marseille trailed second-place Lyon by one point, level with deposed champion Monaco.

Monaco and Lyon have two league matches left. They play on Saturday, with Monaco at home to Saint-Etienne, and Lyon seeking a ninth straight league win when it visits Strasbourg.

ADVERTISEMENT

Paris Saint-Germain sealed the title with five games to spare last month.

Marseille's best chance of making the Champions League now rests on winning the Europa League final next week in Lyon against Atletico Madrid.

It wasted a two-goal lead in Brittany. After just 14 minutes, Valere Germain and Florian Thauvin scored.

But Clement Grenier pulled one back in the 42nd minute and leveled 10 minutes later from the penalty spot following a handball.

Things took a turn for the worse for Marseille when goalkeeper Steve Mandanda was issued a red card and conceded a penalty for a reckless tackle on striker Jimmy Briand, who converted the spot kick to put his team in the lead with 20 minutes left.

Marseille was rewarded for its effort to equalize in the 81st when Thauvin connected with a cross from Bouna Sarr to score his 22nd league goal. Marseille finished the game with nine players after Sarr was forced to leave the pitch injured with three minutes left.

''We are all disappointed and angry,'' Thauvin said. ''We had a 2-0 lead, we should not have been caught up, this is not a good match.''

share


Get more from Marseille Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more