Pedretti set piece saves Lille from Évian loss

A free-kick from Benoît Pedretti salvaged a point for LOSC Lille Métropole against Évian Thonon Gaillard FC as the champions spurned the chance to close on the top two in Ligue 1.

Rudi Garcia's men could have drawn level with second-placed Montpellier Hérault SC and to within three points of Paris Saint-Germain FC had they won a fixture in which they trailed for almost an hour.

Saber Khelifa fired the visitors in front after four minutes, running on to a long ball over the Lille defence, outpacing Franck Béria and beating the exposed Mickaël Landreau. Pedretti, on as a substitute five minutes earlier, equalised just after the hour with a free-kick which went in via Bertrand Laquait's left-hand post.

Lille right-back Laurent Bonnart was disappointed with a result which makes it three games without a victory in all competitions for the Dogues. "We were out for three points tonight, especially after we didn't get what we deserved at Valenciennes and at Inter. Tiredness is not an excuse − we must do better than that."

In contrast, Évian captain Olivier Sorlin said: "Everyone thought we would lose that game. The point's a good one. They needed a set piece to come back and otherwise we held them very well in the second half."