At the Vélodrome stadium,
We wondered how Olympique de Marseille were going to manage to complicate their lives against a team as weak as that of Clermont Foot 63 (2-1) on Sunday. And it was finally Jim Allevinah and his 72 meter who came to give us the answer by slamming an unstoppable header into the middle of the giant Marseille defenders to revive his team (58th). On the first opportunity of the Clermont match, the last attack in Ligue 1.
We are starting to get used to it with Olympique de Marseille this season, almost incapable of having two good halves in the same match. And so it didn’t fail again against Clermont on Sunday evening. The first period was however one-sided for Gennaro Gattuso’s men, despite a droning first 15 minutes. Thanks to the still unconditional support of the Marseille public, whom Gennaro thanked again: “Hats off and thank you, if we started well it is thanks to the supporters. I don’t want to be a fool, but our supporters push us and it’s no coincidence that we’ve had these results at home since the start of the season. »
“Brighton blow” and lack of sleep
Murillo even transformed into a leading attacker, time to finish Aubameyang’s magnificent pass with a touch of the ball above the defense (26th). And Amine Harit finally noticed his first goal since April 20, 2022, to conclude a first half full of mastery. ” Finally ! So much the better, because Amine has the possibility of scoring with all his qualities,” Gennaro Gattuso congratulated him after the match. Which should still have ended with a score of 3-0 or 4-0 for OM but the Marseillais, and in particular Aubameyang, harvested during this first half.
And like the Moroccan international, OM then gradually plunged in the second period, like their team. To the point of conceding this goal from Allevinah after the first shot on target of the match by the Clermontois. But unlike the draw in Strasbourg last November 25 (1-1), and more recently after the victory against Lorient (4-2), the coach of Gennaro Gattuso did not want to overwhelm his players for their very weak second period , this time :
“I think it’s normal for this kind of thing to happen. Thursday we returned at 5:30 a.m. from England, and my team slept at the training center. It’s normal to lose energy after the hard blow at Brighton and to have little sleep. I didn’t expect us to play so well in the first half, but yes we have to improve in the second half. »
“We are proving now, even if we haven’t done anything yet”
If Gattuso did not appear more uplifted, it is because the main thing was elsewhere. Even playing only half of a match, OM continued to win in Ligue 1, the fourth victory in a row, and to move up the rankings. The Marseillais were 13 points behind Monaco on December 3, they are now only four points behind the Monegasques, third. “It was a trap match and we had everything to lose. But we won and even if I know there is disappointment with this second period, congratulations to the whole team,” underlined the Italian coach.
His midfielder Pape Gueye, who entered in the 87th minute, saw from the sidelines his teammates “back off too much and let Clermont play” in the second period, but he also wants to keep the essentials: “We will retain the victory , we needed points. At home with the supporters, we are a big club so we must win this match. We go higher in the ranking, that’s the most important thing. »
Above all, the Marseillais are now showing character, and even if we imagined them being equalized several times in the second half, they held on. “You were surprised to see the players positive despite the lack of results, but there is confidence. And I have always believed in them, I see that they are always available, ready to do what I ask of them. In the end we prove now, even if we haven’t done anything yet. We just improve the ranking,” summarized Gennaro Gattuso. Indeed, at the beginning of December his team did not look like a contender for the podium, today much more so. To be confirmed on Wednesday in Montpellier (9 p.m.), for the last match of the year before the winter break.