Lyon denied by late Niang strike

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PARIS, France (Reuters) -- French league leaders Lyon were denied the chance to rebound from their shock Champions Leauge exit as Senegal's Mamadou Niang snatched a point for Marseille with a late goal in a 1-1 draw at the Gerland stadium on Sunday.

Former Aston Villa and Liverpool striker Milan Baros had opened the scoring with a superb 20th minute strike but although Lyon dominated for long spells, Niang cropped up three minutes from time to claim a point for the visitors.

Baros spurned an injury time chance to pull Lyon ahead after being through with just Cedric Carrasso to beat, but the Marseille keeper made an impressive reflex save diving low to his right.

It has been a disappointing week for Gerard Houllier's men who exited the Champions League on Tuesday at the hands of Roma with a 2-0 home reverse.

And they emerged feeling cheated of the three points after former Arsenal striker Sylvain Wiltord fluffed an easy chance on the hour and Juninho failed to find the net from the several freekick chances at his disposal.

Lyon however still lead the table with 62 points, 13 ahead of second-placed Lens and 19 in front of third-placed Lille.

Earlier, Paris Saint Germain, one of only two French clubs to have won a European competition, fell 1-0 to Auxerre for their seventh home defeat of the season leaving them on course for relegation.

The 1996 Cup Winners Cup champions, whose appointment of former Rangers and Lyon boss Paul Le Guen was expected to boost their league credentials, find themselves once again in crisis.

Following the game winner by Auxerre defender Younes Kaboul, PSG are now second-from-bottom in the French top flight.

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