At the Velodrome stadium,
Five or six chances for Vitinha alone, a good ten for the Olympique de Marseille, stops in shambles of Radu, the doorman of AJ Auxerre, and a single shot on target for a magnificent goal from Birama Touré (32nd), completely against the course of the game. Suffice to say that the scenario of the first half of the match between OM and Auxerre (2-1) Sunday evening At Velodrome stadium let fear the worst for the Marseillais, a bit like the matches against Montpellier (1-1) and Strasbourg (2-2), dominated but not won.
It is not Jonathan Clauss who will say the opposite: “We made a great start to the match, we are dominant, conquerors. We have a little waste in the last gestures but there is a lot of desire, determination… And we take this goal which gives us a little headache “. The first twenty minutes of the second half did not reassure the Marseille supporters much more, leaving to relive a new nightmare scenario at home.
“The mentality of this team reflects the game”
But it was without counting on their support, and a Cengiz Under who still donned the costume of the savior, as often lately with his three goals in the last three games. Like his teammates, the Turk did not give up despite a lot of waste in his game, to finally come and deliver the entire Velodrome with a rolled right foot (74th).
A liberating goal and that “ restores confidence to Jordan Veretout and his teammates to keep pushing. And that barely two minutes later, Alexis Sanchez comes to “relieve” his entire team with a low shot synonymous with “deserved victory, which we went for and which will count at the end of the championship”, always according to the former AS Roma player.
Long moments of doubt, finally swept away by an irreproachable mentality which ended up paying for OM at the end of the season, when Marseille saw some of their competitors running out of steam, like the PSG or Monaco this weekend. ” Sometimes you ask yourself questions, the ball goes in front of the line, to the side. Their goalkeeper who makes saves. But the mentality of this team over the whole season reflects the game tonight, we didn’t give up and we went after it until the end “, underlined Jordan Veretout.
“The human value of my players is as important as their qualities”
Quickly joined by Igor Tudor, for whom these mental victories “are even more beautiful”, to the point of arriving at a press conference snapping his fingers despite such a stressful scenario. “Yes I agree, I think we are in a good moment, all the matches are decisive. The human value of my players is as important as their qualities. If everyone is in this state of mind, nothing can stop us”.
The OM coach was able to ensure the full commitment of his group on Sunday. Like Dimitri Payet, and especially Mattéo Guendouzi, largely downgraded in recent games, who made a superb entry (69th), three minutes before the equalizer from Under. And it is the French international who offers the winning goal to Sanchez with a deep laser pass. “I can only say good things, it’s really very good the way they came back. I’m proud of them, they brought out their values, they brought quality to a game that can be key. They knew how to bring calm, more solutions. I’m happy for them, and for the team, ”said the Croatian. A necessity before going to face the Lensois in a capital match for 2nd place in Ligue 1, next Saturday (9 p.m.).