Lyon secure second place with a late-minute equaliser

Lyon fought until the end to salvage a 1-1 draw against Nice on Friday night, as they keep hold of the much sought after second place of France’s Ligue 1.

With their 1-1 draw against Nice on Friday, Lyon keep hold of the second place of France's Ligue 1. REUTERS/Robert Pratta

Nice took the lead in the 18th minute when Valere Germain outfoxed a Lyon off-side trap.

The Frenchman rose to fire a stunning header past Lyon 'keeper Anthony Lopez.

The hosts then struggled for much of the game, after Maxwel Cornet was sent off in the 24th minute for striking the chest of Nice goalkeeper Yoan Cardinale with both feet.

Nice star Hatem Ben Arfa could have tripled the score, after making several runs into Lyon’s defence before firing just wide.

The match was then stopped for around five minutes in the 70th minute, as Lyon's Parc Olympique had become littered with ripped up newspapers, toilet paper, and ticker-tape.

Lyon’s Portuguese 'keeper Lopez joined in the cleaning up, as gardening rakes and wind machines were brought out to clear the pitch.

Finally in the 82nd minute, Alexandre Lacazette grabbed a late equalizer for the hosts, prodding home after Mathieu Valbuana had hit the bar.

The last ten minutes of the match saw the comeback of French striker Nabil Fekir who was ruled out with a knee injury at the start of the season.

The 22 year-old only has a handful of games left to impress France coach Didier Deschamps ahead of this summer’s Euro competition.

The result means Lyon remain second on 56 points, just one point ahead of third-place Monaco.

Nice remain in third place with 54 points, as all three teams continue to compete for the second place, behind the runaway champions Paris St-Germain, who boast 83 points after winning the league over a month ago.

On Sunday Monaco will be hoping to take advantage of the crisis in Marseille who are trailing in 14th place, just six points above the relegation zone.

To make matters worse, Marseille owner Margarita Louis-Dreyfus announced on Wednesday that the club was now officially up for sale.

Meanwhile PSG will be returning to domestic duty against Caen on Saturday. They'll be hoping to put their disappointing Champions League exit behind them, by ending the season in style.