Ben Arfa strike gives Marseille draw with Benfica

(GSM) – Hatem Ben Arfa’s late away goal gave Marseille the advantage with a 1-1 draw against Benfica in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie in the Europa League.

The two sides both fired countless efforts on goal in the first half, but the play of Benfica goalkeeper Júlio César and Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda kept the teams off the scoresheet.

That same trend held firm in the second half until the 76th minute when the home side took a 1-0 lead on Maxi Pereira’s tuck home following a long cross by Ángel Di Maria.

It seemed that Benfica would be able to hang on for the narrow home victory, but Marseille struck with the equalizer in the final minute of normal time when Hatem Ben Arfa headed home a cross by Laurent Bonnart.

The away goal gave Marseille the draw and the edge in the tie ahead of the second leg in France.