PARIS - Former Manchester United defender Rafael salvaged a 1-1 draw with an 85th minute equaliser for Lyon at ten-man Monaco in Ligue 1 action on Friday.
Lyon's French defender Rafael Pereira Da Silva celebrates after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match between Monaco (ASM) and Lyon (OL) on October 16, 2015 at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco
The 25-year-old right-back, who spent seven years at Old Trafford and won three Premier League titles, came to the rescue as Monaco failed to hang on to their 39th-minute lead.
"I'm happy to get the goal but we're a bit disappointed that we didn't push on and get the win," said Rafael.
"The goal will give us some energy for the Champions League next week but we paid the price for a poor first half and a lack of rhythm."
Croatian international Mario Pasalic poached the opening goal for the home side six minutes before half-time following a corner from Thomas Lemar and a mistake by Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.
The 20-year-old Pasalic, who is on loan from English champions Chelsea, planted his header past the embarrassed Lopes and put Leonardo Jardim's side in front.
Monaco, who came into the match with a record of 10 victories and five draws against Lyon, appeared to be well on their way to improving that statistic before Rafael's first goal for the club.
The task for Monaco to protect their lead was compromised with 24 minutes left when Brazilian defender Wallace was shown a straight red card for a horror tackle on Algerian winger Rachid Ghezzal.
Then came Rafael's equaliser and a welcome boost for Hubert Fournier's men who now travel to Russia on Tuesday and a key Champions League tie against Zenit St Petersburg.
Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain put their undefeated start to the season on the line in the Saturday afternoon match at Bastia while Angers and Caen, who are the surprise rivals to Laurent Blanc's side and five points back, are also on the road.
Promoted Angers travel to fourth-from-bottom Toulouse while Normandy outfit Caen travel to the Champagne region and a fixture against Reims.
Marseille will have a section of their Velodrome stadium closed to supporters, following crowd trouble in the league match against Lyon last month, as they await Lorient in one of three Sunday fixtures that also feature high-scoring Nice at Rennes and Bordeaux at home to Montpellier in a battle of former champions.