OM - Lyon (1-1) : OM was able to react
RETURNS APLENTY
Nasser Larguet had two important returns to his squad that faced Lyon at the end of the 27th round of the Ligue 1 Uber Eats: Florian Thauvin and Arkadiusz Milik in attack. The Marseille coach reiterated his confidence in Saîf-Eddine Khaoui who lined up on the left wing. Led by captain Steve Mandanda, the chosen team, positioned in 4-2-3-1, consisted of Lirola, Alvaro, Caleta-Car and Nagatomo in defence. The Gueye-Kamara pair formed the midfield, with Dimitri Payet at the heart of the game lined as number 10. Larguet, on the other hand, couldn't count on Hiroki Sakai, who was suspended, just like Valentin Rongier.
FIRST HALF
In a balanced start to the match, the two teams entered an observation round where only a Lyon shot was on target. The midfield battle was raging, with Pape Gueye and Boubacar Kamara being called upon. OM conceded the opener after 20 minutes through Toko Ekambi's strike. After the opening goal, the Olympiens discovered each other in the final third and multiplied their crosses. Milik was close to converting Lirola's cross, while Payet's was deflected by Dubois to his keeper. The Olympians pushed forward, Thauvin was perfectly offset by Milik, but the left-footed strike was eventually blocked by Cornet.
MILIK EQUALISES
At the end of the first half, OM were more enterprising, causing trouble for the Lyonnais, and that ended up paying off for the hosts who were awarded a penalty. Gueye's shot was deflected on to the arm by Paqueta. The referee didn't hesitate and pointed to the penalty spot. Full of composure, Arkadiusz Milik took Lopes the wrong side and equalised. The Pole scored his second goal in Olympien colours.
OM IN SUPERIOR NUMBERS
The intensity was palpable in this second period when both teams wanted to score a second goal. The Olympiens, dangerous on a counter-attack led by Kamara, nearly doubled their lead with Khaoui alone at the second post where the strike hit the side netting. The attractive hosts proposed some interesting combinations like a ball left by Payet for Milik. The Pole unleashed a right-foot shot that was picked up by Lopes.
The match was going strong when Paqueta, who had made a big tackle on Payet, received a second yellow card and had to leave the field. Dominating at the end of the match, the Olympiens largely occupied the opposing camp but were up against Lyon's solid low block. OM returned to the dressing room with a point, having shown a conquering face.
