OM - AS Monaco (1-1) | Points shared

Olympique de Marseille returned to Ligue 1 Conforama action on Sunday evening with a 1-1 draw against AS Monaco at the Orange Vélodrome.

Both sides were in need of points after recent form, but it was OM who began the first league game of 2019 with aplomb with commitment and command in the early stages.

It was duly rewarded when Maxime Lopez struck well from distance to beat Diego Benaglio after Dimitri Payet’s free-kick was cleared into position.

Despite the initial bright spark, Monaco found themselves back into contention when Youri Tielemans equalised after capitalising on a loose ball in the box.

OM regained their composure in the second half as Monaco rallied into defensive positions. The hosts thought they had their winner when Florian Thauvin poked home in the 70th minute, but the goal was ruled out for an alleged foul in the build-up.

Results elsewhere mean OM drop to 9th in the table. A trip to Saint-Etienne, rescheduled from December is up next for Rudi Garcia’s men.