27.02.2015 22:54 h

Marseille in dramatic collapse against in-form Caen

Thauvin
Thauvin

Marseille collapsed dramatically from a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 to Caen at the Stade Velodrome on Friday in a result that kept Marcelo Bielsa's side in third place in Ligue 1.

Andre Ayew and Andre-Pierre Gignac seemed to have sealed the deal for the south coast giants but Caen proved once again they were not to be understimated.

Goals from Nicolas Seube and Emiliano Sala, three minutes apart, and Nicolas Benezet's winner four minutes from time extended the Normandy giantkillers' run to seven.

The sensational defeat came at the end of a difficult week for OM with speculation over Bielsa's future at the Velodrome and reports of a clash between the Argentine coach and striker Andre-Pierre Gignac.

The France forward was benched but his replacement Michy Batshuayi, who scored a brace as a substitute last weekend in the 2-2 draw with St Etienne, failed to score.

The young Belgian even missed a penalty, just two minutes into the game when Remy Vercoutre dived to his right to prevent Batshuayi from opening the scoring.

Two minutes into first half stoppage time, Payet inherited a good ball from Benjamin Mendy. Just outside the box, the French international unleashed a powerful strike that Vercoutre could only deflect into Ayew's path.

Gignac added a 15th goal to his Ligue 1 tally from close range, just three minutes after coming off the bench on the hour mark.

But Caen then pulled one back via Seube in the 67th minute.

And they were level three minutes later when Sala won his one-on-one against Mandanda.

But the best was yet to come. Under pressure, Caen resorted to counter-attacks, a tactic that proved effective when Benezet beat Brice Dja Djedje to sink a wonderful strike in the top right corner with just four minutes to go.

Marseille stay third, two points behind second-placed Paris Saint-Germain and four behind leaders Lyon, who both now have a game in hand.

On Saturday, Lyon travel to lacklustre Lille.

In a late Sunday game, PSG face a tough challenge as they head to fourth-placed Monaco, fresh from their stunning 3-1 defeat at Arsenal in the Champions League.