MARSEILLE: Olympique Marseille, down to 10 men, scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw against Lille in Ligue 1 on Friday.

Substitute Antoine Rabillard netted the equaliser with the hosts seemingly set for another home defeat having lost substitute Abdelaziz Barrada to a straight red card in the 86th minute.

Despite the man disadvantage, the home side surged forward, and were rewarded when Rabillard pounced on a rebound after Lille goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama had kept out Paolo De Cegli’s firm header.

Lille arrived at the Stade Velodrome with Marseille having failed to win any of their previous eight on home soil.

Not since a 4-1 victory over Bastia in the fifth game of the season had they secured a home league victory.

Marseille had started brightly and almost took the lead in the 23rd but for an outstanding save from Enyeama.

Mauricio Isla picked out striker Georges N’Koudou on the penalty spot and his effort was beaten away by the Nigerian stopper.

Lille defender Sebastien Corchia made the breakthrough in the 57th with a left-footed strike from close range and after Barrada was sent off for a challenge on Lille striker Yassine Benzia, the visitors looked set for all three points.

However, Rabillard’s strike keeps Marseille in eighth with 31 points, five clear of Lille in 13th ahead of the weekend’s fixtures.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2016