Marseille kept hold of first place in the French league on Sunday after drawing 2-2 with bitter rival Paris Saint-Germain, with strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Andre-Pierre Gignac both scoring twice with well-taken goals in a pulsating first half.
PSG would have overtaken Marseille for first place with a win, but was let down by poor defending and had Ibrahimovic to thank for gaining a point that maintained its unbeaten start to the league season.
Marseille was heavily beaten 4-1 by Valenciennes last weekend, but a resounding win in the Europa League on Thursday boosted confidence and Elie Baup's team started strongly against a lackluster PSG.
PSG looked static in midfield and failed to close down Marseille properly, or get the ball up to Ibrahimovic early on.
Gignac punished PSG in the 17th minute. Andre Ayew won possession in midfield and fed the ball to Gignac some 35 yards (meters) from goal. Gignac pushed the ball inside defender Christophe Jallet and then outside of him before hitting a diagonal shot that went past goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu's outstretched hand.
Ibrahimovic then scored two stunning goals in the 23rd and 25th to send the raucous Stade Velodrome crowd into total silence and take his prolific tally to 10 goals in nine games since joining from AC Milan.
First, he volleyed the ball in from near the penalty spot with his outside of his foot with a martial arts-type kick from Maxwell's corner, and then hit a free kick from 30 yards (meters) with such pace that it flew past goalie Steve Mandanda before he could get across to stop it.
On a bad night for both defenses, Gignac equalized in the 32nd when he soared above four PSG players to equalize with a powerful header from winger Mathieu Valbuena's corner that gave Sirigu no chance.
Third-place Lyon missed the chance to keep the pressure on the top two when it was held to a 1-1 draw at Lorient, and sits one point behind PSG.
Striker Bafetimi Gomis gave Lyon the lead midway through the first half, but former Arsenal forward Jeremie Aliadiere hit back just after halftime as Lorient preserved its unbeaten record in the league this season and held on to fourth spot.
Earlier, sixth-place Bordeaux maintained its unbeaten start to the season after drawing 1-1 at Brest through striker Cheick Diabate's second-half equalizer.
Israel forward Eden Ben Basat put Brest ahead in the 38th minute with his third goal of the season, but Diabate leveled in the 68th with his second goal in as many games.
