Crisis-hit Marseille struggle again at home

Nicolas Nkoulou gifted Nantes a first-half lead when he headed a cross into his own net under little pressure, but Florian Thauvin, whose goal in midweek sent Marseille through to the French Cup final, grabbed an equaliser just after the break.

However, Marseille's hopes of snapping a 10-match winless streak in the top flight suffered a damaging blow when Alaixys Romao was sent off on 55 minutes for kicking out at Yacine Bammou.

And there was worse to come for OM as Abou Diaby, starting his second straight game after 18 months out through injury, hobbled off midway through the second half.

"There was a lack of rhythm in the first half and we started the game poorly. Then there was the goal which was a bit unlucky and that knocked down my players' confidence to a level even lower than it was at the start of the game against Sochaux," said OM interim coach Franck Passi.

"Since the start of the season quite a few things have gone against us, but the players never give up. Faced with adversity, to get back level and earn a point is important," he added, with OM six points above the relegation zone with three games left to play.

Wednesday's 1-0 victory at Sochaux in the last four of the French Cup, which set up a showdown with bitter rivals Paris Saint-Germain next month, was one of the few positives for Marseille in a season which has lurched from bad to worse.

Sunday's game at the Velodrome was played in front of fewer than 20,000 fans as Marseille served a partial stadium ban following crowd trouble during their 0-0 draw against Bordeaux a fortnight ago.

Michy Batshuayi went close to scoring the opening goal on 29 minutes, but the Belgian striker's effort was tipped onto the post by Nantes goalkeeper Maxime Dupe.

And just two minutes later Marseille fell behind in needless circumstances as a breakdown in communication between Nkoulou and goalkeeper Steve Mandanda resulted in the former diverting a cross into his own net.

However, the home side responded on 49 minutes as Thauvin picked up the ball just inside the Nantes area, wriggling free past two defenders before calmly slotting past Dupe.

But a moment of madness from Romao, who lashed out at Bammou, checked any momentum Marseille had been building and allowed Nantes, whose coach Michel Der Zakarian announced he will step down at the end of the season, to halt a four-game losing streak.

Saint-Etienne pulled to within one point of third-place Monaco, who visit Rennes later, in the final Champions League qualification spot as Nolan Roux struck two second-half goals in a 2-0 win over Lorient.

Montpellier all but banished their relegation fears after thrashing bottom side Troyes 4-1, while Gazelec Ajaccio climbed out of the bottom three, at the expense of Reims, following a 3-2 victory against Bastia in the Corsica derby.