Marseille miss chance to cut into PSG's runaway lead

PARIS : Olympique de Marseille failed to profit from their chance to reduce Paris St Germain’s runaway Ligue 1 lead as they suffered a shock 2-0 home defeat to Clermont on Sunday.

PSG lost for only the second time in the league this season when beaten at Nantes on Saturday, offering Marseille a chance to cut into their 13-point lead in the table.

But promoted Clermont spoilt their plans with an early goal from Mohamed Bayo and then a second late on when substitute Jim Allevinah headed in from a corner kick.

Marseille remain on 46 points, now only one ahead of third-placed Nice, for whom Justin Kluivert netted an 18th minute winner in a 1-0 home victory over Angers earlier on Sunday.

Nice might have won by a more handsome margin but had two other efforts chalked off for offside and missed a number of other chances.

Fourth-placed Strasbourg collected a point away at struggling St Etienne in a 2-2 draw where they went behind early, rallied with two quick goals and then gave up an equaliser to St Etienne’s Wahbi Khazri – all in the first 34 minutes.

That one point lifted St Etienne, who have spent most of the season in bottom place, out of the relegation zone, albeit still only one point from safety, on 22 points.

The bottom four clubs are all on 21 points after Lorient and Troyes both lost, but Girondins Bordeaux drew 1-1 with Monaco in their first game under new coach David Guion.

Metz are the other club in the bottom four, having drawn 0-0 with defending champions Lille on Friday.

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Hugh Lawson)