Nice, Marseille draw 1-1, two months after game kicked-off

Nice and Marseille drew 1-1 in French Ligue 1 on Wednesday, two months after the original fixture was abandoned due to crowd trouble.

Nice’s Hassane Kamara and Evann Guessand celebrate during the Ligue 1 contest on Wednesday.

Nice and Marseille drew 1-1 in French Ligue 1 on Wednesday, two months after the original fixture was abandoned due to crowd trouble.

The rescheduled game, played behind closed doors at Troyes, saw Nice take the lead through Amine Gouiri after just six minutes. Dimitri Payet levelled for Marseille just before the half-time interval.

“The draw seems the fairest outcome,” said Marseille cach Jorge Sampaoli. “In the first half Nice produced a lot more, but in the second half we had control and we could have scored a second goal.”

‘Frustration, disappointment’

However, Nice coach Christophe Galtier said he was disappointed not to have take all three points. “There is frustration and disappointment for my boys. With our scoring chances, I believe that my players deserved to win,” said Galtier.

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In the first game between the two sides on August 22, host Nice led the Mediterranean derby 1-0 at the Allianz Riviera with 15 minutes left when Payet fell after being struck by a bottle as he went to take a corner. Payet threw a bottle back into the crowd as team-mates came across to remonstrate with home fans behind the goal.

Supporters streamed onto the pitch and a melee ensued involving players, staff, fans and stewards.

The match was halted for more than an hour and finally abandoned just before midnight local time after the away side refused to return to the pitch. Nice was eventually docked one point by French league officials.