Furiani, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Marcelo Bielsa and Claude Makelele marked their Ligue 1 coaching debuts with a point apiece as Marseille and Bastia shared the spoils in a thrilling 3-3 draw at the Stade Armand-Cesari on Saturday.
Bielsa returned to coaching after a one-year absence and guided Marseille to a two-goal advantage after Bastia took a shock lead in the early going.
Christopher Maboulou had put the hosts in front after only nine minutes when he sent a powerful first-time volley past Steve Mandanda from distance.
But Marseille grabbed the lead within eight minutes as Andre-Pierre Gignac nodded home Benjamin Mendy's cross in the 12th minute before Bastia defender Romaric turned a cross into his own net in the 17th.
It looked as if Marseille would rout the home side after Sebastien Squillaci blocked a cross with an outstretched arm just after the hour mark, resulting in a penalty for the visitors. Gignac converted the ensuing attempt to put daylight between the two sides.
But Bastia would not go quietly as the home side was awarded a penalty of its own in the 66th minute, which Gadji Tallo fired into the upper corner to cut the deficit to one.
The hosts got back on level terms just seven minutes later as Maboulou capped a relentless run into the penalty area by slipping a shot between Mandanda's legs for his second goal of the match.
But Bastia could not capitalize on the momentum as Makelele was made to settle for a point in his first competitive match as a manager.
Newly-promoted Caen made a shock start to life in Ligue 1 as the club cruised to a 3-0 win at Evian.
The visitors were three goals to the good after 37 minutes as Ngolo Kante's opener was supplemented by Mathieu Duhamel's brace.
St. Etienne, meanwhile, grabbed a 2-0 victory to start the season as Melvut Erdinc scored on either side of halftime to give the club three points at Guingamp.
Dario Cvitanich scored twice at the Stade Municipal du Ray on Saturday, but it was Alexy Bosetti's strike in the 69th minute that helped Nice collect three points from a 3-2 home defeat of Toulouse.
And elsewhere in Saturday's Ligue 1 action, Yacine Bammou produced the lone goal in Nantes' 1-0 defeat of Lens, Cheick Diabate handed Bordeaux a 1-0 victory at Montpellier and Lille was held to a 0-0 home draw by Metz.
