Marseille have kept alive their chances of winning Ligue 1 this season with a narrow 1-0 victory over Lorient away from home.

The former French champions started the game brightly and could have taken the lead after just seven minutes had Fabien Audard not kept out Mathieu Valbuena's effort from outside the box.

Jacques-Alaixys Romao also tried his luck from distance but in vain, before Lorient's Maxime Barthelme tested Steve Mandanda from close range.

However, that did not deter Marseille from taking the game by the scruff of its neck as Andre-Pierre Gignac and Andre Ayew both forced Audard into making saves.

Then in the 25th minute Valbuena fired home from outside the Lorient penalty area to give OM the lead.

Jeremie Aliadiere and Kevin Monnet-Paquet combined eight minutes before the break inside the Marseille 18-yard box, but the former failed to keep his final shot on target.

Yann Jouffre made an attempt from distance to pull Lorient level on the hour mark but saw his shot go wide, before Barthelme and Aliadiere squandered their chances.

Barthelme was unlucky not to score in the 73rd minute when he saw his shot from the left side of the Marseille box come off the crossbar.

Lorient pressed on for the equaliser during the remainder of the game, but failed to make any inroad.

Things turned ugly towards the end of the contest as both sides had a man sent off after six minutes of injury time – Ayew for Marseille and Audard for Lorient.