The tops
He is definitely unbeatable on penalties. Geronimo Rulli once again shone in this exercise against Rennes by diverting Arnaud Kalimuendo’s attempt. With a bit of success, since the ball then hit its post before coming out. But the baraka is part of the palette of great goalkeepers. The Argentinian, who had already stopped Romain Del Castillo against Brest, then Alexandre Lacazette against Lyon, is the first goalkeeper to save three consecutive penalties in L1 since Rémois Pedrag Rajkovic five years ago. Flawless!
- Greenwood, in the oven and in the mill
First there was the last, clinical gesture to take a cross from Amir Murillo and allow OM to equalize in the wake of Rennes’ opening score, just before the break. There was then the last pass, a cross placed on the head of Adrien Rabiot, to allow the Marseille club to take the advantage just after the break. Mason Greenwood was in the oven and in the mill against Rennes. Above all, he was the strong individuality that Marseille needed for this match to swing in their favor.
- OM away, a historic record
Brest, Toulouse, Lyon, Montpellier, Nantes, Lens, Saint-Etienne and now Rennes. Marseille scored their eighth away victory of the season… in nine away games. The defeat suffered in Strasbourg (1-0) is indeed the exception which confirms the rule. Robert De Zerbi’s team is simply irresistible away. Above all, she set a record in Brittany. In its history, OM had never won eight of its first nine matches away from its bases. It is now done.
The flops
It’s really not easy to understand the rules without even looking for the logic of calling a penalty or not on a handball. And this Rennes – Marseille did not really reverse the trend in the two cases offered by this meeting. First the hand of Murillo, far from being obvious in the images offered by the VAR, which caused a penalty for Rennes missed by Arnaud Kalimuendo against Rulli. Then that of Albert Gronbaek, severe, on a free kick from Pierre-Emile Hojberg and initially sanctioned. There have already been penalties awarded for this type of action. Not this time, since the referee reversed his decision after intervention by the VAR. Not really unfair, but quite incomprehensible compared to the decision taken on Murillo’s hand.
Marseille played its match. Not Rennes. Jorge Sampaoli’s team delivered a largely insufficient performance at all levels for this duel to really keep its promises. The Breton club showed a particularly glaring lack of winning spirit in front of their home crowd, and illustrated by a small total of five shots aimed at the Marseille goal. Not really more convincing in the defensive aspect of the game, Stade Rennais really did not deserve better as their entire performance was close to nothing.
It wasn’t like that with Julien Stéphan. It’s not better with Jorge Sampaoli. Amine Gouiri remains desperately a shadow on the ground. Whether on the left side in the first period or in the middle after the break, the former Nice player never knew how to make himself available between the lines and weigh on the Marseille defense, before giving up his place in the middle of the second period. A match to forget. A bit like his season so far.
