Greenwood on fire, insipid Bretons… the highs and lows of OM’s victory

Tops

Mason Greenwood on fire

He was the best Marseillais of the evening, without any possible dispute. The Englishman Mason Greenwood, excellent since the start of the season, once again strolled on a Ligue 1 pitch. Very active throughout the entire match, the former Manchester United player scored the equalizing goal in end of the second period with a well-felt flat foot, before delivering a marvelous decisive cross for Marseille’s second goal, scored after returning from the locker room by Adrien Rabiot. Besides that, the Olympian striker had very little waste, participated largely in his team’s play and put himself in the spotlight several times, twice trying his luck, on attempts repelled by Brice Samba.

Serene Marseillais

Although they did not put in an exceptional performance, Roberto De Zerbi’s men did the job on the pitch at Stade Rennais. In the first period, Adrien Rabiot and his team did not find the solution before being surprised by Kalimuendo’s goal. In the second act, it was after only four minutes of play that the Olympians found the fault, before finishing the match perfectly without ever being worried once by the opponent. Marseille continues its 6th Ligue 1 match without defeat and temporarily returns to four points behind Paris Saint-Germain. The Phocéens no longer know how to lose these days and now manage to continue on all the lawns of France.

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Effective rollers

The two goalkeepers in the evening produced good performances, but it is important to underline the importance of the Argentine goalkeeper from Marseille. Geronimo Rulli first stood out around the 30th minute by stopping, at point blank range, a Kalimuendo shot two meters from his goal. A few minutes later, it was a penalty from the Frenchman which he incredibly repelled by diving on the right side. The Argentinian has still not conceded a penalty since the start of the season with Olympique de Marseille. If he finally conceded the first goal of the evening in the 43rd minute, Rulli’s match is to be commended. In addition to his several saves, the Marseille goalkeeper was clean in his kicking game, allowing the Marseillais to break the lines on several occasions.

Flops

Tasteless Bretons

The Rennes put up a poor performance against the Marseillais. If Kalimuendo was impactful at the end of the first period with a big chance and the first goal of the evening with a nice finish, his premature exit at the break made the Bretons completely harmless in the second act. Blas and Gouiri in particular never weighed in the match and Jorge Sampaoli’s men did not create any interesting opportunities in the second act, spending the entire match running behind the ball, without necessarily pressing their evening opponents. They remain 13th in the standings and are struggling to find consistency this season.

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Fofana in the hard

For his second match in Rennes colors, after that against Nice, the Ivorian midfielder replaced Arnaud Kalimuendo at the start of the second half and never found his rhythm in this meeting. If the French striker was the most dangerous man on Rennes’ side in this game by scoring his team’s only goal, Fofana had a lot of difficulty in putting his weight in the Bretons’ midfield, taken by the density of Rabiot, Hojbjerg or Rongier again. He will have to prove himself in the coming weeks to find his place within the Sampaoli collective.