At OL Park,
Laurent Bonnart, Jacques Faty, Julien Rodriguez, Ronald Zubar and the late Modeste M’Bami finally have successors. Because more than fifteen years after its last success in Ligue 1 in Lyon (1-2 in November 2007, with a double from Mamadou Niang), Olympique de Marseille decided to do it again on Sunday. In a crowded OL Park (57,509 spectators) then dumbfounded by the fatal own goal in added time from Malo Gusto (1-2, 90th +2), Igor Tudor’s men scored a big blow in their quest for qualifying for the Champions League. It is precisely not insignificant to see that the Croatian coach let his joy explode as rarely at the final whistle.
Unleashed, the former coach of Hellas Verone even began to throw his OM jacket and sweatshirt into the stands of the Lyon stadium, towards his family, present for the occasion after attending Friday’s the Youth League semi-final of his favorite club Hadjuk Split in Geneva.
After the pressure put on Friday by RC Lens, impressive scorer of AS Monaco (3-0), the Marseillais reclaimed their second place with authority, with a point ahead of the Sang et Or six days before the END. If nothing is done for direct qualification in C1, with the Lens-OM summit in Bollaert getting closer (May 6 at 9 p.m.), a place on the podium takes shape, with the misstep of Monegasques dropped at six OM points.
“We send a message”
“It’s a perfect evening, summarizes Valentin Rongier. This match clearly counts more than the others because it is always important to win an Olympico. We are sending a message for second place, and it is important to maintain our momentum. “This does not weaken, especially far from the Vélodrome where OM displays a course of champion of France. Put under pressure by OL during the first quarter of an hour, before opening the scoring by Cengiz Under (0-1, 44th) then gaining momentum after half-time, the Marseillais were up to the challenge. a funny turn. “In the first period, we gave up playing a bit when we had the ball, points out Igor Tudor all the same. But we corrected that in the second half. »
With a stunning Leo Balerdi as a surprise starter, in place of an unused Chancel Mbemba at Parc OL, OM have once again proven that they have resources. “We went through all the states in this match, notes Samuel Gigot on Free Ligue 1. We did not let go, and the outcome with this goal at the last second is exceptional. Winning here, when you know the tension there is between the two clubs… We are ready to give everything until the end. How can you not believe the combative Marseille central defender? OM continue to run at an average of more than two points per game and their next big spring works will go through the North, in Lens then in Lille on May 21.
“We felt that we were strong”
“We didn’t steal this victory, rightly continues Valentin Rongier. We delivered a very serious, very successful match, with a lot of intensity and duels. Not everything was perfect but we felt we were tough. Strong like Alexis Sanchez, again radiant on the front of the attack, and in particular involved in the opening of the Marseille score.
If Alexandre Lacazette readily recognized Marseille’s superiority on Sunday (14 shots to 7, 7 shots on target to 2), Laurent Blanc posed a caveat: “In the last fifteen minutes, I found that the Marseillais made a lot of mistakes techniques. They lost a lot of balls in the construction and we almost took advantage of it. “Failed” therefore, because for the factual elements, OM now have a 17-point lead over their supposed rival Lyon (7th), who was definitely not a pet peeve this season for the band of Igor Tudor .