Marseille and Lyon play out goalless draw

Lyon missed out on the chance to go fifth in the Ligue 1 table as they were held to a goalless draw by struggling Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.Les Gones had a first-half Sergi Darder goal controversially ruled out and that was as close as they got to the breakthrough that would have brought an end to a run of two consecutive Ligue 1 defeats. Goal-line technology did its job as early as the sixth minute when Marseille keeper Yohann Pele took two attempts to gather Maciej Rybus' effort on his own goal line.Marseille threatened soon after when Florian Thauvin's corner found skipper Bafetimbi Gomis, but his goalbound effort cannoned off the back of team-mate Matheus Doria before clearing the crossbar.Despite that early chance for the hosts, it was Lyon who had the lion's share of possession in the opening stages but Marseille's impressive pressing game proved a tough nut to crack for Bruno Genesio's team.In a first-half littered with fouls, both sides were struggling to find their rhythm as the opening half hour came and went without any further efforts at goal.Then, with 34 minutes played, Lyon thought they had made the breakthrough with their first real shot at goal when Darder's superb bottom-corner finish from 20 yards beat Pele but Maxwel Cornet's interference from an offside position denied Les Gones the opener.Lyon looked the more threatening as the interval loomed and only a brave block from Hiroki Sakai prevented Corentin Tolisso from getting a decent effort on goal from the edge of the area.There was still time for both sides to have shots at goal, though, as William Vainqueur saw a fizzing 20-yard effort finish just the wrong side of the post before Pele gathered a tame curling Darder effort just before the half-time whistle.The interval did little to change the flow of the game as clear-cut chances proved hard to come by.Much like in the early stages of the first-half, Gomis had an early chance from a Thauvin corner but his near-post header looped over Anthony Lopes' crossbar before a solid Doria block at the other end prevented Tolisso from escaping through on Pele's goal.A seemingly frustrated Franck Passi threw on Remy Cabella for the hosts on the hour mark but almost immediately it was Lyon's Rybus who went close with a clever half-volley on the outside of his foot which just bent wide of the far post.And Les Gones went even closer soon after when Rafael flicked a corner towards Tolisso at the back post but his reflex effort cannoned against the crossbar from close range.Marseille responded as the game began to open up late on, and Gomis was unlucky to see his first-time volley hit the outside of the post after Thauvin had done well to pick him out at the back post.Then, with just a few minutes left to play, the hosts had the best opportunity of the entire game to steal the points when substitute Clinton N'jie stole the ball from Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa but, with only Lopes to beat, the Tottenham loanee lost his composure and poked the ball wide of the post.Marseille applied some real pressure late on but their efforts were in vain as Lyon left the Stade Velodrome with a hard-fought point.