In a duel often dominated by palpable tension, Balerdi did not fail to live up to the reputation of the match by receiving a red card in the 5th minute. Cautioned after a few seconds, the Argentinian saw double and left his team with ten men for almost the entire match.
Just before the break, Lyon were awarded a penalty. Captain Lacazette rushed forward, but he came up against a leaping Rulli who kept the score at zero as they returned to the locker room.
OL put the pressure on at the restart, and the domination was confirmed thanks to Caleta-Car, served on his head by Clinton Mata, the former player of Charleroi, Genk and Club Brugge (53rd). The Marseillais, not down, managed to equalize via Lirola (69th), and even to take the advantage on a goal from Garcia in the 82nd minute.
Cherki thought he had saved the day with a goal in added time (90th + 3), on a new pass from Mata, but it was ultimately an error by Lyon goalkeeper Perri that allowed Rowe to lift the Marseille block with a final banderilla (90th + 5). He was the third Marseille substitute to register his name on the scorers’ sheet.
Thanks to this feat, Marseille returns to the level of PSG and Monaco at the top of Ligue 1 with 13 points. Lyon, for whom Malick Fofana played a quarter of an hour, is in great difficulty, 14th with 4 points.
