Marseille miss chance to go top in France after draw with bottom club Angers

MARSEILLE, France — Marseille missed a chance to join Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the French league when it could only draw with bottom club Angers 1-1 in a match marred by first-half red cards for both teams on Friday.

Marseille was left in third place in Ligue 1 and ruing missing chances against the only team in the league yet to win.

The home side was handed an early advantage when Angers’ Lilian Rao-Lisoa was sent off for a foul in the 26th minute. The full back was originally shown a yellow card but the referee changed it to red after reviewing the foul on VAR.

The advantage didn’t last long. Marseille’s on loan striker from Everton, Neal Maupay, was shown two harsh yellow cards in three minutes.

Marseille took the lead six minutes into the second half through substitute Jonathan Rowe. The English forward showed nifty footwork inside the box and his low shot through a web of legs left the unsighted Angers goalkeeper rooted to the spot.

Farid El Melali got his first goal of the season for Angers to level the scores with a beautiful free kick after 54 minutes.

Marseille will feel aggrieved at not getting a penalty for a handball and for seeing Michael Murillo’s late second goal disallowed after a video review spotted a foul in the buildup.