Ligue 1 clubs Marseille and Monaco exchanged leads for a 2-2 draw in a crucial UEFA Champions League ticket contention, while Gustavo Poyet recorded a winning start as Bordeaux head coach after shocking second-placed Lyon 3-1 at home.
Monaco and Marseille, in contention for second position, heated up quickly as each side opened their scoring account just seven minutes into the match.
Keita Balde took advantage of Marseille defender Adil Rami’s error on four minutes to intercept the ball and fire past goalkeeper Steve Mandanda. Rami made compensation shortly as his close-range header left Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic stranded.
The second half started in a similar manner as the first one. Valere Germain, who joined Marseille from Monaco this season, was on position to head home Dimitri Payet’s free-kick in the 47th minute.
Monaco only needed four minutes to pull back the game. Brazilian midfielder Fabinho displayed his excellent skill to dribble past three opponents before slotting into the net.
Poyet, former head coach of Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua, replaced Jocelyn Gourvennec last weekend. The Uruguayan saw his sides go ahead on 22 minutes, as Soualiho Meite latched onto Nicolas De Preville for the opener.
Brazilian promising star Malcom extended Bordeaux’s margin to two goals with a spot kick five minutes later, but he received no clear contact from Lyon defender Jeremy Morel inside the box for the awarded penalty.
After Marcelo pulled one back with a header on Nabil Fekir’s corner, Gaetan Laborde put Bordeaux further again with another 12-yard shot in stoppage time of the first half.
Lyon remained second ahead of Marseille on superior goal difference. Monaco ranked fourth with one point adrift the two sides.
After cruising to a 4-0 home win against Montpellier on Saturday, Paris Saint-Germain were again out of touch with an 11-point advantage.
Also on Sunday, Lille moved out of relegation zone after beating Strasbourg 2-1.