Ten-man Marseille fight back to secure draw in match marred by crowd trouble

A Karim Rekik equaliser secured a point for Marseille against Lyon at the Stade Velodrome this evening in a game marred by crowd trouble.

Alexandre Lacazette scored the game's opening goal after 25 minutes, converting from the spot after he was fouled in the box by Marseille keeper Steve Mandanda.

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Mathieu Valbuena, making his first start against old club Marseille following a summer transfer from Dynamo Moscow, was at the receiving end of a host of tough tackles.

L'OM forward Romain Alessandrini's challenge on the diminutive Frenchman was deemed a sending-off offence by the referee as Marseille's leading scorer saw red moments before half time.

With 15 minutes of the second period expired, a stoppage was initiated by the referee due to the amount of objects being thrown towards the pitch by fans.

The stoppage lasted 20 minutes, with both Lyon players and the refereeing staff slow to return to the pitch.

Immediately after the game restarted, Marseille won a corner which saw former Manchester City defender Rekik head in an equaliser.

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It was Valbuena who went closest to scoring a winner, firing inches wide in stoppage time which amounted to six minutes.

However, neither side could find a decisive strike in the fiery encounter, meaning Marseille move into 12th spot in the Ligue 1 table while Lyon go to seventh.