Marseille, Lyon draw as crowd trouble mars clash

Paris: Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette opened his account for the season on Sunday but 10-man Marseille battled back to earn a 1-1 draw in a toxic encounter at the Stade Velodrome.

Lacazette converted a contentious first-half penalty to atone for his midweek miss in the Champions League. But Marseille, despite seeing Romain Alessandrini sent off just before half-time, rescued a point after play was interrupted for 20 minutes due to crowd trouble courtesy of Karim Rekik’s first goal in French football.

There was a hostile reception for Mathieu Valbuena on his return to the Stade Velodrome where he starred for Marseille until leaving for Dynamo Moscow last year before signing with Lyon in August.

But the Lyon playmaker brushed off the jeers and missiles — including bottles and cups — from the crowd as well as a series of heavy challenges and played a role in the visitors taking the lead.