Bordeaux - OM (0-0) : A courageous point

NUMEROUS ABSENTEES

Between suspensions, injuries and illnesses, Olympique de Marseille was deprived of many starters to face Girondins de Bordeaux. Payet, Milik, Caleta-Car, Sakai and Alvaro were unavailable. Thus, Nasser Larguet set up his starting eleven in a 4-4-2 diamond shape with a defence composed of the same central hinge as against Auxerre (Kamara and Balerdi), accompanied by Lirola and Nagatomo on the sides. In midfield, Gueye occupied the defensive midfield surrounded by Rongier and Cuisance. Thauvin, positioned in number 10, was behind the two top strikers.

FIRST HALF

In a closed match, the two teams entered a close fight. The Olympians were well in place and were not worried. The lozenge-shaped midfield was solid leaving the Girondins with little space. Only an over-crossed shot from Hwang after twenty-three minutes of play was dangerous. On his right side, Pol Lirola gave the Bordeaux defenders a hard time with his incessant runs and numerous crosses.

TWO REDS FOR OM

From the beginning of the second period, the Olympians came back with the intention to occupy the Bordeaux camp and almost opened the score. A free kick from Thauvin, deflected by Koscielny, pushed Costil to relax and deflect the ball into a corner. The Olympians pushed forward, Benedetto sent Germain perfectly deep but the latter saw his pass intercepted by Koscielny. Unfortunately, the match was over for the Olympians when Balerdi was shown a very, very severe red card. The referee, Mr. Brisard, gave a second red card, this time to Benedetto, who had a tackle on Koscielny. Perrin came into the game in place of Thauvin . Forced to play 9 against 11, the match became more difficult and the Olympians suffered. With courage and a steely mentality, the Olympians brought back the point.