PARIS (AFP) – Marseille conceded two late goals to draw 2-2 at home to Strasbourg in Ligue 1 on Sunday having played for over an hour with 10 men after Leonardo Balerdi was sent off.
The Argentine centre-back saw red for bringing down Habib Diallo as the last defender on 29 minutes, but Marseille took the lead right after half-time through Chancel Mbemba.
Alexis Sanchez tucked away a penalty to put Marseille firmly in control, but Jean-Eudes Aholou struck twice in the final three minutes to stun the hosts and rescue a vital point for his side.
“I think today the main thing was the red card. The referee got it wrong and for me it wasn’t a sending off,” said Marseille coach Igor Tudor.
“As a former player I know the difference between contact and a push. He just touched him and the referee couldn’t tell the difference.”
Marseille are 10 points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain and their grip on second place is under threat from Lens, now just two points behind.
Strasbourg kicked off at the Velodrome in 17th place but pulled themselves out of the relegation zone thanks to Aholou’s equaliser.
Lois Openda scored a five-minute first-half hat-trick as Lens thrashed Clermont 4-0 earlier in the day to climb back above Monaco into third.
