OM - Brest (3-1) : Wonderful!
Sampaoli choOSES THE SAME XI
Satisfied with the performance of his players during the victory against Rennes, Jorge Sampaoli, for his second match, used exactly the same eleven as the previous game. A 5-3-2 formation that evolved into a 3-5-2 when the two full-backs, Pol Lirola and Yuto Nagatomo, moved to their respective flanks. In midfield, Kamara, Thauvin and Khaoui supported the two frontrunners Arkadiusz Milik and Dimitri Payet. Before the match, Marseille captain Steve Mandanda received a framed shirt from OM president Pablo Longoria in honour of his 450 Ligue 1 appearances for the club, a milestone he reached against Rennes.
The OM starting eleven : Mandanda (cap) - Lirola, Balerdi, Alvaro, Caleta-Car, Nagatomo - Thauvin, Kamara, Khaoui - Payet, Milik.
THE OLYMPIEN PRESSING
From the outset, it was clear that the Brest team had to be stifled, leaving them with as little of the ball as possible. This is what the Olympiens did perfectly. A high block and intense pressing contributed to many recovered balls. Khaoui intercepted the ball and released Milik, but the Pole's shot was a little too powerful After a clear domination, the game became more balanced and the Bretons put a little more feet on the ball pushing the Olympiens to the fouls, resulting in three yellow cards collected (Alvaro, Caleta-Car and Thauvin).
MILIK STRIKES BEFORE HT
As we were heading towards a 0-0 draw at the break, the referee indicated one minute of additional time. A bonus for the Olympians who opened the score. A perfect one-two between Payet and Milik allowed the Pole to unleash a perfectly placed left-footed shot into the corner of Larsonneur's net. At the break, OM were leading thanks to Milik, who scored his third Ligue 1 goal for OM.
THE SECOND HALF
Rewarded just before the break, the Olympians wanted to add to their tally by scoring a second goal. Sampaoli's men were attacking in the middle of the park and were very attacking, with Pol Lirola constantly present in the Breton area. The right-back had two great chances within five minutes of each other, but was denied by the defence and then by Larsonneur. A little later, it was Dimitri Payet who distributed a great ball for Thauvin but the shot was blocked. The home side were not in sight of the goal for a period before Brest equalised from a set-piece when Brassier headed in at the far post.
INCREDIBLE END
OM drew on their resources to win against Brest and offered us an incredible end of game. Luis Henrique was on fire and made two decisive passes. The first one was a back pass to Thauvin who gave Larsonneur no chance. The second was to Cuisance at the far post, who volleyed the ball past the Brest keeper. The Marseille man scored his second goal of the week and gave a nice birthday present to coach Jorge Sampaoli, who is blowing out his 61st birthday candle on Saturday 13 March.
OM are back to fifth place in the table.
