Michy Batshuayi Strikes Late to Save Marseille's Blushes

Michy Batshuayi scored five minutes into injury time to rescue a point for Marseille in a 1-1 draw at home to Saint-Etienne on Sunday. (Read more football stories here)

The Belgian forward had come off the bench 15 minutes from the end and headed home a Romain Alessandrini free-kick with virtually the last touch of the ball.

It was only five minutes from time that St Etienne thought they had scored the potentially winning goal that would have sent them above Nice into third place in Ligue 1 -- the final Champions League qualifying spot.

Kevin Monnet-Paquet shot home left-footed from Romain Hamouma's pass.

Under-pressure Marseille coach Michel was pleased with his side's performance despite the disappointing result.

"Nothing we saw (on Sunday) was new: we created chances, we were close to scoring, we got back into the match just like against Lille (a 1-1 draw), we fought to the end and there was a lot of courage," he said.

The draw barely helps either side as St Etienne could lose fourth spot to Lyon or Rennes later on Sunday while Marseille are 10th and still five points behind Nice in the tight race to qualify for Europe's premier club competition.

Asked if he feared for his job, Michel said: "I don't think about that, never. I think about doing my job and going forwards."

On Saturday, Paris Saint-Germain maintained their 24-point lead at the top with a 4-1 victory over lowly Reims as Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a brace.

They now need only three more wins and a draw from their final 11 matches to win the Ligue 1 title.

Monaco remain second and determined to delay PSG's inevitable crowning as French champions after a 3-1 win over rock-bottom Troyes sent them eight points clear of Nice, who drew 0-0 at Bordeaux on Friday night.