The 7th day of Ligue 1 kicked off with this poster between OM and SCO Angers! It was not a cakewalk for the Phocaeans. However, in front of their fans and against the red lantern of the French championship, Roberto De Zerbi’s men failed to win.
After the expulsion of Lilian Rao-Lisoa on the Angevin side, Neal Maupay was also excluded immediately and left the two teams ten against ten after half an hour of play. If OM thought they would do the hardest part by opening the score thanks to Jonathan Rowe, it was subsequently taken back (1-1). A big disappointment for the Marseillais!
Geronimo Rulli did not expect to have such an eventful evening against SCO Angers. Finally, the last bastion of OM was called upon against the red lantern of Ligue 1. He was very calm in the first period, with two good outings in quick succession (19th and 22nd). He made a good save after half an hour of play. He couldn’t do much about the equalizing free kick.
In this match, Michael Murillo played very high. He found himself several times on the edge of the opposing surface, in his role as a piston. He recovers a good ball in front of the Angevin area, shortly before the break. However, his failed restart before the 55th minute of play was very costly. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg makes a mistake and the Angevins equalize on the free kick.
He thought he would give his team the advantage just before the 70th minute of play, but his goal was disallowed for handball. A complicated evening until the end. He is still the author of a great intervention in the 84th minute. He left his place to Amine Harit (NN) at the end of the match.
Back from suspension, Leonardo Balerdi expected to have a quieter evening. Despite some good interventions at the start of the match, the Marseille captain was too agitated throughout the match. He receives a warning after contesting an arbitration decision. He must have made his fans tremble until the end…
He was the author of a very solid match in the middle. Derek Cornelius didn’t have much to do, but did very well in the little he did. Roberto De Zerbi, however, decided to take him out 25 minutes from the end of the match, to Adrien Rabiot (NN).
In his left lane, Ulisses Garcia gave a lot. It is also from him that the Angevin expulsion comes. He suffered a violent tackle in the 23rd minute of play, which forced the referee to exclude Lilian Rao-Lisoa, after help from the VAR. He was also the author of an authoritarian return shortly after the hour mark. His cross for Michael Murillo was perfect in the 68th minute of play, before the goal was disallowed for handball. It is replaced by Lilian Brassier (NN) for the last minutes.
After his complicated performance in central defense against RC Strasbourg, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg found his place in midfield. It was not necessarily better for the Dane. He failed to find the fault in the Angevin defense. He managed to do it in the 68th minute of play, but Michael Murillo’s goal from a cross from Ulisses Garcia was refused. To make matters worse, his mistake in the 55th minute of play allowed SCO Angers to equalize.
Like Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Geoffrey Kondogbia did not shine in the Marseille midfield. He failed to play forward, facing a very well established Angevin block. He will move to central hinge after Adrien Rabiot comes into play.
He never stopped provoking in this meeting. Even if he was not successful, Mason Greenwood tried everything to put Angevin in difficulty. First in the heart of the game, he got the first two shots of the match (7th and 10th).
Very available, the Englishman was able to return to his lane as the meeting progressed. He once again put the opposing goalkeeper to work at the start of the second half, with a strong cross in front of the Angevin goal.
He was expected for his first start with the OM jersey. Valentin Carboni only played one half. In a very dull first period, the Argentine attacking midfielder was transparent. He was only able to stand out on a delivery to Mason Greenwood, in the 10th minute of play. Insufficient for his first in the starting eleven.
It was replaced by Jonathan Rowe (7/10) at the break. And the new arrival has done the Marseillais a lot of good. Showing the way forward, he managed to break the deadlock just six minutes after coming on. He then gave a lot on both ends of the pitch.
He has gotten used to being decisive since the start of the season. However, this will not be the case this Friday evening. Luis Henrique failed to stand out in this meeting. An evening to forget for the Brazilian winger. He leaves his place to Elye Place (NN) for the last 25 minutes.
Not starting in OM’s last two matches, Neal Maupay had a great opportunity to score points this Friday. Roberto De Zerbi had chosen to start him at the forefront of the Marseille attack against the red lantern. In the end, he did not score any. Quite the contrary…
After not having had much to eat before the Angevin expulsion, he expected to have opportunities in numerical superiority. The French attacker will not have had time to take advantage of it. He received two yellow cards in three minutes (27th and 30th) and was sent off a little stupidly.
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