OM: Valentin Rongier silenced all the criticism

Return from the international break with an attractive display as part of this 12th day of Ligue 1. The Racing Club de Lens, which was coming off a great victory against FC Nantes two weeks ago, returned to its pitch at the Félix-Bollaert stadium and welcomed Olympique de Marseille who, after a terrible disappointment against AJ Auxerrre, had to send a message to the competition. And for this away duel, Roberto De Zerbi had concocted a little surprise despite some consistency in his starting eleven. Indeed, alongside the two central leaders who are Adrien Rabiot and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, the former Sassuolo coach decided to offer his chance to Valentin Rongier, starting for the second time this season only after his appearance in as right-back against Nice on September 14.

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Heavily injured last season after a fractured kneecap, the OM midfielder has been more downgraded than ever in the Marseille rotation since his return from injury. Seeing him start against Lens this Saturday in a perilous trip to Félix-Bollaert was surprising at first glance, despite De Zerbi's recent declarations: “Valentin Rongier is training well, I spoke with him last week. He knows, even if you train well, when you've been away for so long, it's difficult to come back. But he has this strength of character and this ability to adapt to several positions and that could be an asset soon», had in fact declared the Italian coach at a press conference before the match against Nantes 2 weeks ago.

A major and immediate impact

Since his start against the Aiglons and his big entry into play (79 minutes played despite being a substitute) against OL in September, Valentin Rongier had been content with parts of matches: 11 minutes against Montpellier then 3 minutes against FC Nantes . All interspersed with meetings during which Rongier was either not summoned or did not return. So he knew he was playing big this Saturday night. In a period of uncertainty and questioning, the native of Mâcon had to seize his chance to reassure Marseille supporters as well as Roberto De Zerbi and his staff: “It's nice, the most important thing is the result because it's hard to come and win here. We have a very good group. The coach didn't change his tone, he told us to continue to fight against a team that asphyxiated us in the first half, we managed to energize the match and we didn't concede a goal. Mason Greenwood worked very well, we all played the game and it showed on the team. There are no cheats» And one thing is certain, Valentin Rongier could not do better with more than 60 balls touched and a total of 95% of successful passes. But beyond the purely mathematical aspect, it is in the volume of play and the physical dimension that Rongier impressed everyone.

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While his team, dominated by the Sang et Or, had a very bland first period, Valentin Rongier was able to reverse the scenario of the match by opening the score after returning from the locker room. On a serve from Neal Maupay, he concluded without worry to deceive Brice Samba (49th): “Time teaches us that this team needs to have someone who brings order to the field. (Valentin) Rongier has these characteristics and he had a great match. I didn't want to replace him but he had been warned and I was afraid of the second yellow. We also lost a little order when it came out.», Analyzed Roberto De Zerbi. He also scored his first goal with OM in official competition since December 29, 2022 against Toulouse. Even his teammates were impressed, notably the young Bilal Nadir, who came on in place of Rongier: “I would like to congratulate Valentin, we stayed together for many months, he was injured, it was difficult for him, but this evening, he showed great strength of character, and the second half starts from him“. What if Roberto De Zerbi had found his missing piece to rebalance his system? The former FC Nantes player at least sent a message.