Serious, efficient and far superior to its evening opponent, OM temporarily regained the lead in Ligue 1 with an easy win, Friday, November 21, at Nice (5-1) to calmly prepare for a very important reception against Newcastle on Tuesday in the Champions League.
On Thursday, Roberto De Zerbi said he was happy to have done well during the international break, but we don’t know what conclusions can be drawn from it, with several players returning from injury (Balerdi, Kondogbia, Weah, Nadir) offset by new problems (Aguerd, Murillo).
But the Italian technicians responded on the pitch with a very consistent performance, which should give them good confidence before facing Newcastle on Tuesday, for what looks to be the final card played in the Champions League.
Meanwhile, the Marseillais team leaves the Côte d’Azur with first place on the podium, which can only be surpassed by Paris SG, if they are successful on Saturday night against Le Havre.
Third defeat in a row for Nice
In contrast, for Nice, things didn’t get any better. Ninth before another match in this 13the Today, Aiglons are fresh from three consecutive defeats in the league and often looked helpless on Friday. After a balanced and spirited start to the match by the Nice ultras, who were celebrating their 40the their group anniversary, OM quickly took the lead.
Mainly driven by Benjamin Pavard’s desire for revenge after a difficult period, or the activity of Geoffrey Kondogbia, who returned to the pitch after a long absence, De Zerbi’s side were able to put pressure on Nice’s very young and sometimes feverish central defence.
The opening score was signed by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, more lively and attentive than Melvin Bard to recover Pavard’s deflected ball from Mason Greenwood’s corner (1-0, 11e).
The Englishman then scored Marseille’s own second goal with a right shot that was deflected by Bard, who endured a very difficult first 45 periods (2-0, 33e).
The start of a general brawl after Greenwood’s goal then briefly revived Aiglons, who had several chances to score (Terem Moffi 42nd and 45+2, Bard 45+3) but in the end showed above all that Jeffrey De Lange is an entirely reliable substitute goalkeeper.
Brief interruption
Just before the break, Igor Paixao, accompanied by Aubameyang, committed sabotage in a two-on-one match that could have seen OM close the match definitively, and therefore the match was still open after returning from the dressing room.
He only stayed there for a few minutes, time for De Lange to regain control of Moffi, then for Greenwood to make his point. In contrast to Moffi, this Englishman is ruthless: at 53 years olde minutes, he left Juma Bah on the penalty spot with a hook and acceleration before beating Yehvann Diouf with a perfect right cross (3-0).
Five minutes later, Timothy Weah, who was clearly more than valuable, added to the score after a fine move animated by Aubameyang and Emerson Palmieri (4-0) and it was all over.
Mohamed-Ali Cho saved the honor with a header, which was served well by Sofiane Diop (4-1, 63e), but OM cracked down again when Aubameyang showed Paixao how to handle two against one. Holding no grudge, the Gabonese served the Brazilian and Marseille won 5-1.
At the end of the match, fireworks launched by the Nice ultras disrupted the match for a few moments, but everything was fine. We know that the European Cup has not gone well for the Aiglons and on Friday, the opponents are clearly European caliber.
