Ligue 1: Marseille held by 10-man Metz to stay fourth

The Provence side has 23 points from 13 games and stands 11 points adrift of leader Paris Saint-Germain.

Marseille hit the woodwork through Dimitri Payet in the first half, but could not break the deadlock despite Jemerson being sent off for the visitor after the interval.

Olympique de Marseille failed to make its domination count as it was held to a 0-0 stalemate by 10-man Metz and remained fourth in Ligue 1 on Sunday.

The Provence side, which hit the woodwork through Dimitri Payet in the first half, could not break the deadlock despite Jemerson being sent off for the visitor after the interval.

It has 23 points from 13 games and stands 11 points adrift of leader Paris Saint-Germain, one behind second-placed RC Lens and trail Nice, which hosts Montpellier later on Sunday, on goal difference.

Metz, which hit the post twice, is second-bottom on eight points.

At the Stade Velodrome, Thomas Delaine's angled shot crashed against Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda's post as the visitor flexed its muscles early on.

Marseille had most of the possession but failed to threaten until the 26th minute when Payet's superb strike hit the bar.

Metz also came close before the break when Delaine again hit the woodwork.

The visitor was reduced to 10 men though when Jemerson was shown a straight red card in the 56th minute after a VAR review for stomping on Payet's knee.

Marseille thought it had scored from the resulting free kick but Gerson's effort was ruled out after another VAR review for a previous foul on Dylan Bronn.

Metz continued to bank on counter attacks to make the difference and it remained a threat to Mandanda, who was made to work by Nicolas de Preville on the hour.

Keeper Alexandre Oukidja also shone for Metz to twice deny Arkadiusz Milik and preserve a precious point.