Advertisement

Marseille draw 3-3 with Monaco, Caen win to go second

By Ed Dove STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - Olympique de Marseille snatched a 3-3 draw at home to AS Monaco in a Ligue 1 thriller on Sunday while surprise package Caen climbed to second by thumping Girondins Bordeaux 4-1 away. Marseille's Georges-Kevin Nkoudou grabbed an 82nd minute equaliser when he arrived late to fire home Lucas Ocampos’s mis-hit strike after a roller coaster match full of poor defending. Caen took the lead against Bordeaux through Syam Ben Youssef in the sixth minute before second-half efforts from Damien Da Silva, a Cedric Carrasso own goal and Andy Delort. Ahead of the Marseille game, the fans paid tribute to the victims of the attacks on Paris by Islamist militants on Nov. 13 which killed 130 people and left more than 350 injured. They sang La Marseillaise and unveiled a tifo mosaic of two giant French flags on the south stand, one in the shape of a heart and one which carried the symbol of Paris. The spectacle was accompanied by a banner saying ‘Pour nos libertes’, ‘For our freedoms’ followed by a minute’s silence. WRETCHED DEFENDING On the pitch, wretched defending made for a topsy-turvy contest with the hosts taking the lead after 12 minutes when Romain Alessandrini slammed the ball past Danijel Subasic after Wallace cleared Bernard Mendy's dangerous cross into his path. Marseille enjoyed most possession but it was the visitors who equalised when Almamy Toure evaded the defence to tap home a superb free kick from Fabio Coentrao after 19 minutes. Toure bagged an unlikely second in the 39th when he profited from Karim Rekik’s slip before slotting past Steve Mandanda. Marseille's Michy Batshuayi equalised in the 51st when Subasic came to claim a cross but missed the ball, allowing the striker to finish from close range although he looked offside. Coentrao’s header from Elderson Echiejile’s cross crept in at the far post in the 72nd to make it 3-2 to Monaco but Nkoudou struck to earn a share of the points 10 minutes later. "When a team scores three goals at home, they have to win,” Marseille coach Michel told reporters. “We have to improve so much in defence." Toure added: "There's joy but there’s also frustration because we should never have let in these goals.” The point leaves Marseille in 11th place on 19 points, while Monaco drop to seventh on 24. NO SUPRISE Caen were in total control against Willy Sagnol’s Bordeaux side with a 4-0 lead when the home side had Andre Poko sent off in the 81st minute but Enzo Crivelli managed to bag a late consolation in the final minute. The win takes Caen to 28 points above Angers (26) and Olympique Lyonnais (25) and 13 points behind Paris Saint-Germain. Bordeaux drop to 14th, with four wins all season. "We have a certain legitimacy in terms of the points we’ve taken," Caen coach Patrice Garande told a news conference. "It’s not a surprise. The fact that we’re second, I understand that that’s a surprise for you." St-Etienne beat 12th-placed Guingamp 3-0 to move up to fifth on 25 points after second-half goals by Romain Hamouma, Valentin Eysseric and Nolan Roux, although they had Bayal Sall dismissed for a second yellow card in the 90th minute. (Editing by Ken Ferris)