Marseille lose momentum with Angers draw

PARIS (Reuters) – Olympique de Marseille’s remote chances of challenging Paris St Germain for the Ligue 1 title took a knock on Saturday when they were held to a goalless draw at home by Angers. The result left the Provence side in second place with 42 points from 21 games, seven behind PSG who travel to Lille on Sunday. OM, who had won eight of their last nine league games and were on a six-game winning streak at the Stade Velodrome, never found they way around a tight Angers defence. Angers, who have only scored seven goals away from home this season, are eighth on 30 points. No shots were taken in the opening 20 minutes - a first in Ligue 1 this season - but Angers had a clear chance in the 21st when Sada Thioub’s curled shot went just wide. Marseille dominated possession but were toothless up front as the absence of the injured Dimitri Payet was clearly felt. Elsewhere, Monaco were beaten 3-1 at home by RC Strasbourg and they have now picked up only one point from their last three games. Montpellier climbed up to fourth on 33 points after goals by Florent Mollet and Andy Delort earned them a 2-1 home victory against 10-man Dijon. St Etienne beat lowly Nimes 2-1 at home to end a four-match losing streak.