A stunning RC Strasbourg comeback cost Olympique de Marseille the chance to win the Ligue 1 championship, as Jean-Eudes Aholou's brace helped Frédéric Antonetti's team salvage a 2-2 draw.
Morgan Sanson had a significant role in the aggressive build-up for the visitors, Strasbourg, in the early going. A close-range attempt by the Aston Villa loanee was stopped, and he also provided a lovely long ball to Habib Diallo, whose angled attempt missed the post. Thomas Delaine should have given Antonetti's team the lead when he raced through on goal but pulled his left-footed effort wide. Antonetti's team didn't have the appearance of a team trying to avoid the drop.
Soon after, Leonardo Balerdi was given a straight red card for taking Diallo down, making it more difficult for Marseille to defeat the determined underdogs. The Senegal international fell as a result of the seemingly little collision. While Marseille was being opened up at will by Les Bleu et Blanc, Kevin Gameiro missed another opportunity to open the scoring before halftime when he headed wide from Delaine's cross.
Their domination, however, was for nothing as Marseille seized the lead four minutes into the second half. As Matz Sels parried Ruslan Malinovskyi's free kick toward Chancel Mbemba inside the six-yard box, Mbemba took advantage of a hole in the wall and scored. Sanjin Prci of Le Racing continued to advance despite the setback, but the Bosnia and Herzegovina midfielder could only manage the side-netting with his attempt after putting himself in a favorable situation.
Despite their promising performance, Strasbourg were the ones to bring about their own demise when Frédéric Guilbert inexplicably tugged Alexis Sánchez's shirt in the box, resulting in a penalty. The Chilean scored effortlessly from the penalty spot to snap a brief scoring drought of three games and score his 14th goal of the season in all competitions.
Yet just as Marseille seemed to be coasting to three points, Jean-Eudes Aholou scored twice in a matter of seconds to earn the visitors a well-earned draw. His corner looping attempt first reduced the deficit before a breath-taking long-range strike tied the game. The stunning hat-trick attempt by the Ivorian was stopped by Lopez. With 11 games left, the outcome leaves Marseille 10 points behind Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain, although they stay in the UEFA Champions League qualifying spots. Strasbourg, meanwhile, jumps up to 15th as a consequence of this surprising point.
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