The former teammates of Nantes Emiliano Sala make a moving tribute to the attacker

Nantes paid tribute to his former striker Emiliano Sala during an emotionally charged evening at the Stade de la Beaujoire as they led St Etienne to a 1-1 draw.

Sala and David Ibbotson will be remembered throughout the first match of Nantes since the Piper Malibu plane carrying the Argentine striker and the pilot had disappeared by the Channel, two days after making a move from £ 15 million in Cardiff.

Nantes struggled to win against their high-flying opponents and was left behind by Remy Cabella's strike early in the second half, but Waris Majeed secured a share of the spoils. 20 minutes from the end.

Supporters laid flowers on the ground before the coup d'etat sent a poster from Sala. While during the warm-up, players on both sides were wearing T-shirts with an image of the Argentine with the caption "Pray for Sala" on the back.

A number of Cardiff fans also traveled to Nantes to show their respects to Sala, just one day after their first match since the tragedy.

A cover on the center circle also represents the same image of the 28-year-old player, while Nantes broadcasts a video of the goals of the attacker during his stint at the club while the local team wears shirts bearing his name.

While the players were performing the pre-match handshake, three stands were presented: one showed the number nine which paid tribute to the Sala team number during his stay at the French club, another bearing the name of the attacker and the third representing the Argentine flag in front of the crowd. observed a minute of silence.

Saint-Etienne, fourth in Ligue 1, nearly took a fifth-minute lead when Wahbi Khazri nearly scored from a corner, but goalkeeper Maxime Dupe tried to get back to the far post.

In the ninth minute, referee Frank Schneider suspended the match to provoke a minute of applause from the crowd and players, which melted the boss of Nantes, Vahid Halilhodzic.

The match was struggling to slip into the tempo thereafter. Nantes almost unlocked the impbade in the 26th minute. Striker Kalifa Coulibaly was free in the penalty area, but spread wide.

The two teams were then reduced to 10 men at half-time when Fabio and Yann M & # 39; Vila were sacked during a break after the Brazilian defender attempted to take the midfield ball from St Etienne.

St Etienne took the lead in the 58th minute via Cabella, when his efforts were laundered before he resumed the advantage.

However, Nantes was level 12 minutes later with a superb counterattack as they came out of their own penalty area before Coulibaly found Waris about to come home and generate emotional celebrations.

Yellow and green scarves were thrown in the air as supporters ran down jubilant stands, scorer Waris brandishing a shirt that translated "We love you, Emi" for the faithful of Nantes.