Batllès scraps for Marseille point

By Chris Burke

A Laurent Batllès equaliser spared Olympique de Marseille from their ninth straight defeat against Paris Saint-Germain FC, but the 1-1 draw means they finish the weekend third in Ligue 1.

Nakata own goal
Victory would have taken Philippe Troussier's side back above second-placed LOSC Lille Métropole, yet it was the visitors who began stronger and Fabien Barthez was called upon to keep out a Mario Yepes header after just four minutes. PSG continued to dominate and finally broke the deadlock within a minute of the restart, when left-back Koji Nakata deflected Danijel Ljuboja's cross past the helpless Barthez.

Marseille determination
Determined not to suffer another defeat to their arch-rivals, Marseille streamed forward and took advantage of PSG captain José Pierre-Fanfan's poor clearance to draw level. Substitute Samir Nasri set up Steve Marlet, and when his shot was parried by Lionel Letizi, midfield player Batllès was on hand to fire into an empty net. Pauleta almost snatched the winner for the capital club with a late effort, however Laurent Fournier's side will be content with a point that takes them up to eleventh, while Marseille now trail Lille on goal difference.