Olympique de Marseille and OGC Nice drew 2-2 in a thrilling match Wednesday night at the Stade Vélodrome.
Nice opened the scoring in the 13th minute, thanks to a goal from Terem Moffi, to take a 1-0 lead over Marseille. Les Aiglons recorded five shots in the first 45 minutes as they looked to extend their winning streak to two games.
Despite Nice taking the early advantage, OM leveled the scoring 1-1 in the 31st minute courtesy of a goal from Jonathan Clauss. The celebrations wouldn't last for Marseille as Faris Moumbagna received a second yellow card in the first-half stoppage time, leading to a red card.
πππ#OMOGCN #OGCNice pic.twitter.com/SDMDit1Bd5
— OGC Nice π¬π§πΊπΈ (@ogcnice_eng) April 24, 2024
Jean-Louis Gasset and his team had to play the final 45 minutes with ten men, but the short-handed OM team would take the lead. After a VAR review confirmed a penalty kick for Les Phocéens, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stepped into the box to convert as Marseille took a 2-1 lead.
After giving up two unanswered goals, Francesco Farioli and his team responded to level the score at 2-2. Melvin Bard came to the rescue with his equalizing goal from outside the box as Nice took advantage of having the extra man.
In second-half stoppage time, Aubameyang had an opportunity to hand Marseille the win, but his chip shot over Nice goalkeeper Marcin BuΕka hit the top crossbar to deny the veteran striker the potential game-winning goal. The contest ended 2-2 with both teams taking one point, which isn't ideal for either in their quest for European football.
They call him ππ¨πππ πππ’ππππππ ! β‘οΈβ½οΈ
— Olympique de Marseille π¬π§ πΊπΈ (@OM_English) April 24, 2024
βͺοΈπ΅ pic.twitter.com/Qz8jUSkhMR
Nice trail third-place Stade Brestois by five points, but Eric Roy and his team currently occupy a UEFA Champions League spot for next season. With four games left on their schedule, Nice will need Brest and LOSC Lille to drop points while they secure wins if they want to play in Europe's top club competition for their next campaign.
The draw against Nice also hurts Marseille's aspirations to qualify for a European competition next season through their performance in Ligue 1. OM trail Nice, who currently occupy the UEFA Europa Conference League spot, by seven points and are riding a four-game winless streak in league play.
OM will have to turn the page when they face RC Lens this weekend and then shift their focus to the first leg of their UEFA Europa League semifinal tie against Atalanta. As for Nice, they'll be traveling to Stade de la Meinau for a matchup against RC Strasbourg.
