Andre-Pierre Gignac matched Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal for goal to earn Olympique de Marseille a 2-2 draw at home to Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday and keep l’OM three points clear of their archrivals at the top of Ligue 1.
All the goals came in the first half at the Stade Velodrome, with Gignac scoring either side of a stunning quick-fire double from Ibrahimovic, whose eye-catching contribution masked a listless performance from his side.
“After the second goal, we could have won. We were on top, but after that we weren’t in control of the match,” PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “We didn’t play a great match. There was nothing exceptional. We should have kept trying to score and we didn’t play with much intensity, but there was the match on Wednesday [last week, a 1-0 loss at Porto in the UEFA Champions League] and then the journey afterwards.”
PSG remain unbeaten in the French top flight this season, but Marseille showed enough to suggest that their storming start to the campaign is not about to fizzle out.
“We tried to play our hand as best we could and impose our game,” Marseille coach Elie Baup said. “We didn’t make any calculations about the result. We needed to keep defending, even as we went forward.”
Earlier, Olympique Lyonnais were held to a 1-1 draw at Lorient in an open and entertaining game at the Stade du Moustoir that left Remi Garde’s side in third place.
Lyon hit the woodwork twice, before Bafetimbi Gomis volleyed them ahead in the 23rd minute, with Jeremie Aliadiere equalizing early in the second half when he converted Benjamin Corgnet’s low cross following a slick move down the Lorient right.
Lyon finished the weekend one point below PSG, while Lorient are a point further back in fourth, having extended their unbeaten run to eight matches.
Earlier, Girondins de Bordeaux preserved their own unbeaten record in Ligue 1 with a 1-1 draw at Stade Brestois 29 that left Francis Gillot’s side in sixth place.
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