Soccer-Nice fight back to draw at Rennes but title ambitions fade

Feb 12 (Reuters) - Valentin Eysseric scored a late equaliser for OGC Nice as they battled back from two down to salvage a 2-2 draw at Rennes on Sunday but it was not enough to prevent the title hopefuls losing ground on Ligue 1 leaders Monaco. Eysseric broke past the home side's defence in the 81st minute and sped away before finishing calmly past Benoit Costil to rescue a point. Substitute Anastasios Donis had halved the deficit in the 59th minute with a sharp finish. Morgan Amalfitano had fired Rennes ahead against nervy Nice in the seventh minute with a superb chipped effort before Giovanni Sio doubled the hosts' advantage 14 minutes later after narrowly beating the offside trap. Nice have now won twice in their last eight matches in all competitions and remain third on 53 points, two off second-placed Paris St Germain and five behind leaders Monaco, who thumped Metz 5-0 on Saturday. (Reporting by Ed Dove; editing by Martyn Herman)