Marseille missed the chance to go back to the top of the Ligue 1 table by slipping up at 10-man Nice this evening.

Romain Genevois struck two minutes into the second half to put the hosts ahead before Kevin Gomis was sent off for two bookings in the space of three minutes.

Nice held firm and doubled their lead through Niklas Hult, with Florian Thauvin's reply for Marseille not enough to prevent them falling to a 2-1 defeat.

In what was an end-to-end game from the first whistle, Nice had a couple of early sighters as Nampalys Mendy and Alassane Plea blasted off target.

Marseille were causing more of a measured threat with their delivery into the box, with Jacques-Alaixys Romao and Michy Batshuayi heading wide from good crosses.

The opportunities became more clear cut as the break approached and each side missed golden chances to open the scoring, as Plea nodded over from six yards and Dimitri Payet miscued from Mario Lemina's inch-perfect layoff.

The deadlock was broken shortly after the restart as defender Genevois poked home his first of the season on the goal line, after the visitors had failed to clear Valentin Eysseric's corner.

Gomis then sabotaged Nice's chances of a significant win when he picked up two yellow cards between minutes 50 and 53, both for wild hacks on Payet.

Marcelo Bielsa's title chasers applied the pressure as Batshuayi and Giannelli Imbula forced saves out of home goalkeeper Mouez Hassan, but Nice caught them on the break as Hult swept home Plea's 73rd-minute cross.

Thauvin quickly pulled one back after Imbula found him at the far post, but Jeremy Morel and Batshuayi again wasted late chances to equalise as Marseille failed to capitalise on their 37-minute man advantage.

The result means that first-placed Lyon retain their one-point lead on Marseille, while Nice climb a spot to ninth.