A match to take off? With the poor performances of Monaco, Lyon and Nice, Marseille had the opportunity, this evening against Strasbourg, to consolidate their second place in the Championship. With four points ahead of Lille (3rd), the Phocaeans can widen the gap to seven points and come back to within seven points of PSG, still largely the leader. OM also sought to forget the disappointment of their elimination in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France against Lille (1-1, 4-3 tab). Facing the Olympians, the Strasbourg residents had a certain margin in Ligue 1. Tenth with six points ahead of the play-off Saint-Étienne, Liam Rosenior’s men could, in the event of victory at the Vélodrome, reduce the gap to three points with Olympique Lyonnais (6th) and get back into the race for Europe.
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Usually masters of the game, the Marseillais struggled to keep control of the ball at the start of the match, facing an aggressive Strasbourg team in the duels. The intense pressing of the Alsatians destabilized their opponents, as evidenced by this error from Luis Henrique, whose back pass towards Højbjerg lacked too much precision (21st). The people of Strasbourg will therefore unblock the meters first. In midfield, Santos spotted Emegha’s call behind the Marseille central defenders. The Dutch striker found himself alone against Rulli and managed to open the scoring (23rd, 0-1). Stunned, the Marseillais did not give up. In the 38th minute of play, Luis Henrique demonstrated his technique on the edge of the area by unleashing a powerful shot which narrowly missed the left post. Despite a few other offensives, the score remained unchanged before returning to the locker room.
Marseille reacts, but does not take the advantage
From the start of the second act, OM tried to restart the match. Greenwood, well inspired, refocused on his left foot and curled a shot which grazed the left post (47th). At the hour mark, the Phocaeans came up against Petrovic several times. Rowe, Merlin and Greenwood were unleashed in the opposing area, without success. But everything comes in time to those who wait. The young Robino Vaz, who entered at the break, won a penalty after a foul by Andrey Santos (66th). It was thus brilliantly transformed by Greenwood to the cheers of the stadium (68th, 1-1).
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After the equalizer, Emegha went behind Balerdi’s back. The player managed to hit but his ball hit the post (72nd), leaving OM in a cold sweat. At the end of the match, Rowe collapsed in the area after an opening from Greenwood and a duel with Doué, however the referee of the match remained impassive (82nd). Final score, one goal everywhere. This draw does not benefit either team. OM maintains its 2nd place with 37 points, but has not managed to widen the gap on Lille, which has 32. For its part, Strasbourg remains 10th with 24 points.
Pub. the 19/01/2025 22:43
– UPDATE 19/01/2025 22:55
