PARIS: Olympique Marseille missed the chance to put some pressure on Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain as they were held to a 1-1 home draw by Montpellier on Friday, after a penalty by Matteo Guendouzi cancelled out an early goal by Arnaud Nordin.

Second-placed Marseille had been hoping to close the gap with PSG to four points before the league leaders faced Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday.

But instead, Igor Tudor’s men now trail PSG by six points after dropping points for the third time in five league outings and could be overtaken by third-placed Lens when they visit Rennes on Saturday.

“Today we weren’t good enough to win,” admitted Tudor. “The international break has cost us dearly. There were too many mentally and physically tired players. We only had one training session together so I knew it would be tough.”

Nordin sent the visitors ahead in the 12th minute with a well-placed shot into the bottom right corner from inside the box after an assist from Elye Wahi.

Guendouzi converted a penalty for Marseille a minute before halftime. The referee pointed to the spot following a handball by Mamadou Sakho.

But OM created little and Wahbi Khazri went close to a winner for Montpellier midway through the second period when he was denied by home goalkeeper Ruben Blanco.

Marseille dominated possession late on but could not find a goal which would have given them renewed hope of a first league title since 2010 after PSG’s shock home loss to Rennes before the international break.

The boos from Stade Velodrome crowd increased as the final whistle beckoned without any more goals.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2023