Lorient: match notes – 24hfootnews

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And six! Olympique de Marseille won for the sixth consecutive time in the league (7th victory in a row in all competitions), this Saturday, against FC Lorient (3-1, 19th day of Ligue 1). Dominators, the Marseillais have never really been worried at the Vélodrome. Igor Tudor’s men imposed, from the start, a lot of pressure and very high pressing on the Lorient people. But apart from a header from Ünder, well repelled by Mannone after a good cross from Kolasinac at the far post (6th), there was not much to get your teeth into. The Hakes were then able to get their heads out of the water and gradually gain confidence.

They were the ones who struck first. Found by Cathline on receipt of a corner kicked by Le Fée, Moffi sent a missile leaving Lopez no chance (0-1, 30th). While Le Fée narrowly missed the target a few minutes later (35th), the Marseille revolt came from Kolasinac’s skull. The former Arsenal left-back cut off a cross from Ünder to equalize and wake up the Vélodrome (1-1, 39th). In the process, OM saw the crossbar prevent them from going ahead on the scoreboard, on a powerful header from Gigot (43rd).

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However, the OM supporters did not have to wait too long after returning from the locker room for this to happen. On returning from the locker room, Sanchez, thanks to a superb sequence of outside control with the right foot-half-volley from the left, quickly shot Mannone (2-1, 53rd). Enough to give wings to Veretout, who, from the left of the surface, made the break with a nice shot deflected by Kalulu (3-1, 59th). Malinovskyi, holder alongside Guendouzi and Sanchez to form the attacking trio, leaving the right lane to Ünder, tried his luck (67th) but will have to wait to open his counter in France.

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Dieng, on his first ball, stumbled on Mannone and could not participate in the party (77th). No matter, OM, in management at the end of the match in front of their fans, consolidated their place on the podium thanks to this 13th success of the season in the league and prepared as well as possible for the reception of Rennes, Friday, in the Coupe de France. While taking 8 lengths ahead of these same Rennais, by putting Lorient at 10 points, but also by temporarily returning to 5 units from the first place occupied by PSG. What to afford a second part of the season of madness?

Man of the match Kolasinac (7): the Bosnian international has proven that he has been the man in form on the Marseille side since the return from the truce. Very restless, he subjected Ouattara to his law on the side, not hesitating either to take his left lane with the ball at his feet. After his goals against Monaco and Toulouse, he allowed himself to do it again from a corner after a remote-controlled cross from Ünder. He is also a decisive passer on the goal of Sanchez (54th) Fifth consecutive tenure and certainly not the end of the series. Replaced by Kaboré (66th)

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Olympic Marseille

• Lopez (5): the Spanish goalkeeper was technically unemployed for 89 minutes, but could not do anything on the only real opportunity from Lorient, concluded with a volley at close range from Moffi (29th). He did not fall asleep in front of the flatness of the show and made serene ball shots when necessary. His kicking game is a real breath of fresh air for the Marseillais.

• Mbemba (7): like Balerdi, the former Porto player did not hesitate to go beyond his duties as a defender, an instruction from Igor Tudor which has definitely often paid off since the start of the season. Thanks to his team’s permanent possession of the ball, he was able to bring the surplus by allowing himself a few crosses, a few breakthroughs, and even a good sequence concluded with a recovery that was too high (10th). Defensively, he held his rank and was never really put in danger. It is his cross that leads to the goal of Veretout (59th). He sacrifices himself on a strike from Le Goff which took the direction of the goal (71st).

• Leg (5): among the three central defenders from Marseille, the native of Avignon was the least visible but put in a decent performance. If he imposes by his size and his appetite for duels, he completely forgets Moffi on the Lorient goal (29th). He was not far from redeeming himself by smashing Mannone’s bar with a whim (42nd). It is he who is considered as decisive passer on the goal of Veretout.

• Balerdi (6): the player trained at Boca Junior delivered a more than correct performance. Like Mbemba, he did not hesitate to free himself from his duties as a defender, and one of his crosses could have turned into a goal (30th). Moffi and Ouattara never put him in difficulty. His hybrid role allowed him to assert his quality of recovery.

• Kolasinac (7): see above

• Malinovskyi (4): the first tenure of the Ukrainian under the colors of OM will not remain engraved in the collective memory. The former Atalanta Bergamo player seemed to play with restraint, even if he allowed, thanks to his positioning, to offer more freedom to Ünder. He is not far from scoring on a strike with the right foot which flirts with the post of Mannone (62nd) but was waste. One thing is certain: OM found their set piece shooter, an exercise in which his left foot often generated danger. Replaced by Payet (66th)

• Rodier (6): formidable against Troyes on Wednesday, the Marseille captain again delivered a fine performance. His always thoughtful positioning allowed him to scrape many balls (27th, 46th, 66th…). His rise to power in the second period coincided with that of his team which scored two goals after returning from the locker room. His doublet with Veretout sometimes lacked creativity.

• Veretout (5.5): in the first period, the French international delivered a fairly neutral performance and lacking in vitality, contenting himself mainly with side passes. Often isolated on the left side, he tried very little, apart from his shot deflected by Mannone (45th). Much more in sight during the second act, and author of a nice goal from the left foot in a complicated angle (59th). Replaced by Gueye (76th)

• Under (6.5): incisive from the start, the Turk could have scored if Mannone had not pushed back his rough head (6th). He sends a delight from the center on the goal of Kolasinac (38th) and posed many problems for Le Goff in the one against one. Very active, he made a lot of effort defensively, and his return, sanctioned with a yellow card, is precious (50th). He logically withdrew little by little at the end of the meeting, lacking lucidity.

• Guendouzi (4.5): this match had a particular flavor against his training club, but Guendouzi often seemed to lose his bearings. Aligned in a position of (almost) playmaker who definitely does not stick to his skin, the French international has shown himself too little, contenting himself mainly with side passes. In the second half, he was not far from being a decisive passer for Dieng after a very high recovery in the Lorient camp (78th). He was more at ease after his repositioning at the end of the game.

• Sanchez (6): the Chilean striker showed unfailing generosity, and was rewarded with his 6th goal in Ligue 1. Lonely in the first half when he had to settle for remains on aerial balls, the former player of Inter Milan emerged with class on returning from the locker room by performing a spontaneous sequence with the left foot (53rd). Cutting edge in his calls, his stalls were invaluable in the long Marseille possessions. Replaced by Dieng (77th), who could have scored on his first touched ball.

FC Lorient

• Mannone (2.5) : if he made a big save on the head of Ünder (6th) to start his match, he nevertheless made a mistake on the equalizer of Kolašinac by completely holed up in his aerial exit (38th). He almost made the same mistake again a few minutes later by missing another outing on the free kick kicked by Malinovskyi concluded by a crossbar hit on the head of Gigot (43rd). He can’t do much, however, on OM’s 2nd and 3rd goals. But we noticed a real lack of understanding with his defenders throughout the match.

• Kalulu (3.5) : if he still touched around thirty balls and was coveted for the raises, defensively it was still quite limited. Often lost, walking on his side without helping in the middle and without covering the wing to avoid crosses, especially on the goal of Sanchez (53rd). He was like the Breton defense tonight: inconsistent and lacking in solidity.

• Matsima (3) : on the Marseille equalizer, the French defender was a bit too lost, not making any markings on the Marseille attackers, while hampering the exit of his goalkeeper. From the height of his 20 years, he seemed to suffer from a certain lack of experience on certain sequences. Badly placed, late, or overtaken, Matsima had a lot of trouble.

• Talbi (3.5) : author of seven clearings, he sometimes limited the breakage by camping the role of the last defensive curtain but without however appearing regular in his production. Much like the rest of his defensive counterparts, we felt a lack of communication and defensive organization. He deflects the ball without actually clearing it on Marseille’s third goal (59th).

• Le Goff (3) : facing a very good Cengiz Ünder, the Lorient side suffered. Often caught up in speed, he was unable to limit the production of the Turkish player, who was one of the best players in the match tonight. He lost most of his duels. On the offensive side, he had very few opportunities to get the ball out to start counter phases.

• Abergel (3.5) : before leaving on injury, he was not the most flamboyant. As a tenured captain in front of the defence, he could have been more vocal and supportive of his defensive counterparts. He also committed two faults and lost the majority of duels played. Substituted for Aouchiche in the 70th minute

• The Fairy (5) : he once again showed a high volume of play, being involved in most of the (rare) Lorient opportunities in the first period. He touched 45 balls, while posting a total of +70% of successful passes. The Breton midfielder won all or almost all of his duels and gave everything to be the investigator of the game, whether in the creation or the finish. Unfortunately, Lorient was heavily dominated and had very few attacking chances. Substituted for Koné in the 84th minute

• Ouattara (4) : too discreet in the first period when he only made nine assists in the first 45 minutes, he had no chance of being productive tonight. It was easily hooked by Jordan Veretout on Marseille’s third goal of the game. With 26% possession, the offensive sector of Lorient is not easy to analyze tonight.

• Culvert (4.5) : rather clean and fast in the execution of his passes (95% success rate), he, like many of his attacking colleagues, was too discreet, a victim of Marseille domination. But he made no mistakes and responded when he had the opportunity to show himself Substituted for Innocent in the 63rd minute

• Catherine (5) : involved in opening the scoring for his team by making a perfect cross to find Moffi, he generally knew how to project himself forward to try to quickly launch offensive situations. In vain given the clear and clear domination of OM in this meeting. A complicated match to live for the central block of the Hakes.

• Moffi (5.5) : while his team had not attempted the slightest shot, he allowed the Merlus to lead by scoring a superb goal at the half-hour mark. He first got rid of Gigot’s marking to resume volley the center of Cathline following a corner (29th). The definition of realism and efficiency during an encounter with no real chance to shine. Difficult to say anything else, as he had no additional opportunities, touching only nine balls.