The pastis did not have the same taste when entering as when leaving the Stade Vélodrome, Sunday evening in Marseille. A taste of reunion and celebration before kick-off for the 50,000 supporters present, after having waited 527 days and finally rediscovering the pleasure of supporting Olympique de Marseille. Before a taste of disappointment and frustration in the face of their team’s draw against Bordeaux (2-2) for the second day of Ligue 1.
“Of course we would have liked to give them a victory, and see them leave the stadium happy. But we could not ”, regretted Jorge Sampaoli, for whom it was the first with the public at the Vel. Blame it on a catastrophic return from the locker room after a well-controlled first half and a new goal from Under (34th), the second in two games, and a new number from Dimitri Payet (41st). In an atmosphere which was charged with electricity as the day went on, after an afternoon on the Jean-Bouin square, followed by the first “To arms” as soon as the warm-up, and to catch fire on the opening of the score.
“Mentally we were touched by this equalization”
Everything was too good. “We thought we had control of the ball but the opponent benefited from a somewhat lucky situation on the reduction of the score, and then there was too much confusion”, according to the Argentinian coach. Mandanda, more passive than the situation was lucky, let pass a strike from young Pembélé (51st). Before getting caught on a combination on a corner made in OM two seasons ago, with a center stretched back for the strike of Oudin.
First “Aux Armes” for a year and a half in the Vélodrome stadium! pic.twitter.com/NbN99iVTHF
– Adrien MAX (@ AdrienMAX9) August 15, 2021
An equalization which ultimately weighed down the players as much, “I think that mentally, the team was affected by this equalization”, confided Rongier at the microphone of Amazon Prime, as the supporters. “Honestly, we gave everything up to the 70th, after that we couldn’t take it anymore. I no longer had a voice, and after a while I couldn’t even breathe, ”analyzed Yann, subscribed to Commando Ultra, and obviously a little disappointed with the turn of the match, as with his performance.
“The group is not yet completely finished”
But Sampaoli, like Yann, know that this is only the start of the season after a year and a half without a stadium for the second, and still without Milik for the first. “We have a young group and we are still missing players. The group is not yet completely finished and we need time to find our marks, and the keys. You cannot compare yourself to an already formed team. We lost our idea of the game a bit at the end, we paid cash for our mistakes and we have to learn from that, ”said Jorge Sampaoli. In the first place Léo Balerdi, guilty of a direct red card (89th) for an uncontrolled tackle, and dangerous, after having already been warned!
A match ultimately the opposite of those we were accustomed to OM from Argentina, with a sluggish start to matches before the last quarter of an hour of madness. But when you sing too loudly in the first half, you risk losing your voice quickly in the second.