Marseille lose ground after 1-1 draw against Montpellier

Olympique Marseille were held to a 1-1 home draw by Montpellier in Ligue 1 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 leaders Paris St Germain 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 they failed to overcome Montpellier.

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.

Neither team seemed to have the will to win the match in the second half, and the boos from Stade Velodrome crowd increased as the final whistle beckoned without any more goals.