MARSEILLE: Olympique de Marseille were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Strasbourg on Sunday, leaving Roberto De Zerbi`s side nine points behind runaway Ligue 1 leaders Paris St-Germain.

Emanuel Emegha put in-form Strasbourg in front midway through the first period but Mason Greenwood hit back from the spot after the hour to level.

Marseille sit second on 37 points, but lost further ground in the title race to champions PSG.

The draw ended Strasbourg`s run of three successive league wins as they stay 10th on 24 points.

Sleepy Marseille defending allowed Emegha to sneak back onside near the halfway line before being sprung by an Andrey Santos through ball. The striker dinked a composed finish past Geronimo Rulli to silence the Velodrome on 23 minutes.

The home side dominated the ball for the remainder of the half but failed to break through.

Shortly after the hour, Marseille were offered a lifeline when Santos scythed down 17-year-old debutant Robinio Vaz in the Strasbourg box.

Former Manchester United forward Greenwood flashed his right-footed penalty past Chelsea loanee Djordje Petrovic in the 68th minute for his 12th league goal of the season.

Elsewhere, Saint-Etienne rescued a late 1-1 draw to Nantes in the battle between 16th and 15th.

Le Havre stayed four points behind Saint-Etienne in the automatic drop zone, following their 1-1 draw with 13th-placed Reims. Angers jumped to 12th place with a 2-0 home victory over 10-man Auxerre.-AFP