This match seemingly promised goals en masse, as the teams had 13 apiece from their four respective league matches since Marseille won a five-goal thriller in their last meeting.
Goalmouth action was instant in a strong start for Monaco, although Ruben Blanco began his first league appearance since October with a strong save to deny Eliesse Ben Seghir, before Vanderson and Wissam Ben Yedder both failed to hit the target from promising positions.
The visitors’ breakthrough eventually came through Jordan Veretout, whose unfortunate header flicked Aleksandr Golovin’s free-kick delivery inside his own far post.
Marseille had plenty of possession but looked tame, with whistles echoing through the Stade Vélodrome at points.
Blanco was worked again by Krepin Diatta and Ben Yedder, with the latter missing the target from a glorious position after the Spaniard had stopped his dinked attempt.
Despite showing good technique, Diatta then struck the ball marginally over the crossbar shortly before the break.
With Igor Tudor’s words likely ringing in their ears, Marseille finally kicked into gear and scored two minutes after the break, as Alexis Sanchez capitalised on Alexander Nubel’s mistake to equalise.
Nuno Tavares was shooting whenever the opportunity arose, with one effort concerning Nubel before hitting the side netting before a volley attempt with his right foot spun horribly wide.
Sead Kolasinac scored the dramatic winner in the reverse, but couldn’t find the target after fellow defender Leonardo Balerdi had hit the crossbar.
Mere moments after Dimitri Payet was introduced as a late substitute, his well-struck volley hit the side netting, as Marseille’s eight-game winning run in all competitions came to an end, missing the opportunity to draw level on points with RC Lens.
While Monaco’s unbeaten league run was extended to five matches, the draw means Les Monegasques remain five points behind Les Olympiens.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alexis Sanchez (Marseille)
