Ligue 1: Marseille Top-Four Push Stalls After Wahi Late Equaliser for Nice

Wahi panenka punishes Marseille as Nice snatch draw 

Elye Wahi’s 89th-minute Panenka penalty earns Nice 1-1 draw at Marseille after Hojbjerg header. Les Aiglons go five clear of drop; OM four off top four.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s diving header gave Marseille the lead before Elye Wahi’s Panenka penalty...

 

Elye Wahi struck a late penalty to rescue a 1-1 draw for Nice in their derby against sixth-placed Marseille, who have now failed to win four of their last five Ligue 1 games (D1, L3).

After booking their place in the Coupe de France final, Nice had to quickly refocus on the task of securing Ligue 1 survival.

 

Given their precarious league position, Claude Puel’s side unsurprisingly set up defensively, and their European-chasing hosts threatened inside five minutes when Arthur Vermeeren’s far-post header forced Yehvann Diouf into a sharp save.

The Nice keeper was called on again approaching the half-hour, reacting quickly to keep out Leonardo Balerdi’s header on his 150th Ligue 1 appearance.

Marseille kept the pressure on after the restart, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang heading wide from a clear chance before Tochukwu Nnadi saw his effort blocked by Juma Bah’s last-ditch intervention moments later.

 

As Marseille kept pushing, Wahi and Mohamed-Ali Cho reminded the hosts of Nice’s threat on the break, drawing two quick saves from an alert Geronimo Rulli.

With frustration growing inside the Stade Velodrome, the hosts finally broke the deadlock through an unlikely source. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg met Nnadi’s dangerous cross with a diving header to beat Diouf.

⏱️ FULL-TIME

Points shared at the final whistle.#OMOGCN | 1️⃣ - 1️⃣ | ⚪️🔵 pic.twitter.com/r5oHpSgVQd

— Olympique de Marseille 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 (@OM_English) April 26, 2026

Hojbjerg’s first league goal since November forced Puel into a change, bringing on Kail Boudache. But the substitute spurned a golden chance moments later, heading wide of an empty net after Rulli had carelessly given the ball away.

 

Boudache was let off the hook when Les Aiglons were handed another chance to level. Tadjidine Mmadi stood on former Marseille man Jonathan Clauss in the box, and Wahi stepped up to coolly chip home a perfect Panenka, snatching a point that lifts Nice five clear of danger.

 

For Habib Beye’s side, the draw leaves them four points off the top four and facing an uphill battle to secure Champions League qualification.