OM - Nice (3-2) : Return to victory!
MANY CHANGES, DIENG DEBUTS UP TOP
For the reception of OGC Nice, the rearranged match of the 11th round of Ligue 1 Uber Eats, Nasser Larguet did not have at his disposal the winter mercato recruits, Milik, Lirola and Ntcham. In addition, Benedetto and Balerdi were suspended after their expulsion in Bordeaux last Sunday. The Olympien coach recorded the returns of Caleta-Car and Alvaro in central defence. Sakai and Nagatomo occupied the flanks. In the middle, Kamara and Gueye were in front of the defence with Payet as playmaker. At the front, many changes with Luis Henrique, Khaoui and Dieng in attack.
THE SUCCESSFUL RETURN OF ALVARO
His collision with Neymar during the match against PSG had taken him off the field for a week. Alvaro Gonzalez missed trips to Auxerre in the French Cup and Bordeaux in the league. The Spaniard did not miss his return. The defender did not hesitate when he received a cross from the outside of Payet's right foot which Lees-Melou failed to push away. He unleashed a powerful shot from the left and found the top corner of Benitez's net to open the scoring.
FIRST GOAL FOR KHAOUI
One minute after finding the crossbar of Benitez on a nice three-way combination with Payet and Dieng, on which a (not very obvious) offside was whistled, Khaoui doubled the lead. On the left, Payet was on the heels of Luis Henrique. The Brazilian centred back for Khaoui, who was alone because Dieng had sucked up all of Nice's defence. The left-footed player placed an instant shot and found his way to the goal in L1 for the first time since 18 December 2018. He also scored his first goal with Olympique de Marseille.
Khaoui OFFERS A DOUBLE
Like in Lens a fortnight ago in the first match on the bench of Nasser Larguet, OM led 2-0 at the break but took a goal early in the second half. Boudaoui found Gouiri who passed between Caleta-Car and Alvaro to pass Mandanda from close range.
But unlike in the match against the Sang et Or, the Olympians reacted quickly. On a new cross from Payet cleared by the Nice defence, Khaoui collected the ball on the edge of the area. The Tunisian international controlled before shooting from the left and thus allowed OM to regain a two-goal advantage.
REBOUND IN THE LEAGUE
Ninth with 34 points before kick-off, OM took the three points following victory. This was the team's second success in Ligue 1 Uber Eats in 2021 and the first under Nasser Larguet. The points taken against Nice enabled Marseille to make a leap in the standings. The Olympiens occupy, with one match in hand against Rennes set for March 10th, in sixth place, also one place and one point behind Julian Stephan's side.
