LOSC Lille completed a dramatic turnaround at the Stade Vélodrome on Sunday afternoon thanks to a late header from Olivier Giroud which sealed a huge three points in the race for Champions League qualification. Les Dogues have moved level with Lyon in fourth place, whilst now sitting only two points behind OM in the podium spot.
THE MATCH
It was certainly decisive match-up for both sides in the race for direct qualification for the UEFA Champions League, Lyon’s loss would suddenly increase the importance at a grey Vélodrome on Sunday evening. Les Olympiens got off to the quicker start in the first few minutes as Mason Greenwood dragged a shot wide after a low freekick sent across the box from Igor Paixao. Les Dogues responded immediately as Mukau forced Rulli into the first save of the game from the centre of the box. Marseille were then handed a blow when Mason Greenwood had to be pulled by Habib Beye following a concussion injury suffered after a mass brawl broke out in the middle of the pitch involving Verdonk and Haraldsson. Nathan Ngoy arguably should have seen a red when he initially wiped out the English winger as the last defender, despite being quite a distance from goal.
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Fernandez-Pardo was lively, and forced a second save out of Rulli with a strike from the right of the box. After a stop and start spell it was the hosts that ended up opening the scoring after some great work from Igor Paixao to stand up a cross to meet Ethan Nwaneri’s late run – the Englishman met it with a lovely cushioned finish on the volley to open the scoring just before the break (42′). After the resumption of the second half it was Lille who managed to strike back after OM couldn’t clear their lines and Meunier took a golden chance when the ball fell to him in the box after an error from Balerdi, with the former PSG man poking home from close range (48′). Fernandez-Pardo thought he had put Les Dogues back in front when he was played through on goal and slotted past Rulli. But it was only for a tight offside call to quickly rule out the goal. Habib Beye rolled the dice to bring on Amine Gouiuri after taking off Kondogbia as Marseille looked to regain their advantage. But Lille would
OLYMPIQUE DE MARSEILLE PLAYER RATINGS
Geronimo Rulli – 4
Facundo Medina – 4
Leonardo Balerdi – 3
Timothy Weah – 4
Emerson Palmieri – 5
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 5
Geoffrey Kondogbia – 5
The defensive cover provided by Kondogbia seems to be working well at the minute, and is a major preference for Habib Beye.
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Quinten Timber – 5
The Dutchman is one of the more consistent performers in this OM side and he’s only been playing since January. Against Lille he was far from spectacular, but did all the right things in the middle of the park and was combative.
Igor Paixao – 6
Another performance that was full of energy for the Brazilian, constantly threatening down the left side and providing the well-timed cross for Nwaneri to open the scoring just before the end of the first half.
Mason Greenwood – N/A
Ethan Nwaneri – 5
The Englishman came on after Greenwood’s concussion injury and managed to find his second goal in OM colours this season. He gradually felt his way into the game, and his late run was smart and the finish on the half volley was exceptional. He did however regress in the second period, losing the ball on several occasions when OM were looking to break quickly. Habib Beye then substituted Nwaneri in the 75th minute for Junior Hamad Traoré.
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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 3
The Gabon international mirrored his performance against Auxerre last week with another outing which left much to desire. He simply wasn’t involved with the attacking play and couldn’t get on the end of any chances that rarely came his way. Gouiri’s cross in the second half was just too high for him to make any connection.
LILLE LOSC PLAYER RATINGS
Berke Ozer – N/A
Nathan Ngoy – 5
Was lucky not to be sent-off for his challenge on Greenwood, but defended admirably after w
Thomas Meunier – 6
Aissa Mandi – 5
Calvin Verdonk – 4
Hákon Haraldsson – 4
The Icelandic international arguably should have seen a red card for his shove on Mason Greenwood in the first period, so was lucky to be on the pitch. His first half was more positive than his second, where he saw much less of the ball and had a lot less influence on the game.
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Nabil Bentaleb – 5
Ngal’ayel Mukau – 5
Felix Correia – 5
Ayyoub Bouaddi – 4
Matias Fernandez-Pardo – 5
The Belgian was busy, showing his speed and good timing in his attacking runs. He finished well but was very unlucky to marginally be offside in the second period. Replacing Olivier Giroud as a focal attacking point is no easy task, but he did well.
GFFN | George Boxall – reporting from Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
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