Olympique de Marseille lets Paris Saint-Germain slip away. At the top of Ligue 1 for many months, the Parisians widened the gap even further this weekend by taking advantage of the Marseillais’ misstep. Forced into a draw this Sunday evening by Strasbourg (1-1), the Phocéens are now nine points behind, but maintain a five-unit lead over Lille in the race for second place.
But OM didn’t deserve much better this Sunday. Far too timid despite the enthusiasm of their supporters, Roberto De Zerbi’s men did not target a single shot in the first half, despite possession clearly to their advantage. Conversely, Strasbourg were extremely effective in opening the score on their only real opportunity. Starting behind the defense thanks to an excellent ball from Santos, Emmanuel Emegha deceived Gerónimo Rulli with a clever right dive.
Young Robinio Vaz, 17, man of the match
Visibly upset by his team’s performance, the Italian technician decided to make several changes at the break, removing Derek Cornelius and Neal Maupay from his eleven. A judicious choice which provoked the awakening of the Marseillais, much more incisive in the second act. Mason Greenwood first saw his left shot go a few centimeters from the goal, before Robinio Vaz obtained a penalty for a foul by Andrey Gomez (66th). Greenwood took charge of the conversion.
-But Olympique de Marseille was still not at the top of its game. Six minutes after the equalizer, Emmanuel Emegha went behind the defense for a repeat of the opener. His shot hit the post, however, before Quentin Merlin put the ball in for a corner. A warning without cost therefore, which allowed the Marseillais to believe in it until the end. The young Vaz, only 17 years old, had the victory at the end of the shoe, but his recovery went off target.
Despite this draw, OM maintains its second place, a good distance from PSG (9 points) but with a small margin over Lille (5 pts) and Monaco (6 pts). Danger, however, because the Phocaeans’ schedule in the coming weeks is delicate, with a trip to Nice and the reception of Lyon, two candidates for Europe.
