The closed door – and before it the reduced gauges – does it affect the performance of Ligue 1 teams at home? It is true, to hear various players in the game. However, not all teams are penalized equally. The big teams such as Lille, OL or PSG, which all progress at the rate of 2 points or more per game on average on their field, seem to be ignoring this parameter. Behind these, the bulk of the teams have a positive ratio at home, between 1 point and 2 points, fairly consistent with the standards of previous seasons.
One notable exception, however: OM. Despite its current good performance, Marseille paradoxically has difficulties at the Vélodrome, as evidenced by its last Ligue 1 match against Reims on Saturday: 3 wins, 3 draws and 1 defeat in 7 matches, or 1.71 points per match, against 2 over the whole of last season. The Olympians benefited from the 12th man effect of the Vel ‘, a stadium which attracted the largest crowd in France before the Covid-19 (52,805 spectators on average).
“The first match against Saint-Etienne (0-2) was very hard for us, Lille (1-1) and Metz (1-1) too, notes André Villas-Boas. Now we are starting to get used to it. It’s going to be curious when the public will come back and maybe put pressure on the players… ”
Failing to be in the gallery, the Marseille ultras are sending their messages differently. At the end of November, before the reception of Nantes (3-1), they had blocked the bus of the players forcing the executives to discuss with them. “I don’t know if it’s the pressure, but it’s been a long time since we had seen such a debauch of energy …”, noted a member of the Fanatics, the group most agitated of the North turn, after the coming of the Canaries.
“There is no such thing as the usual adrenaline”
More generally, it appears that it is in the historically “hottest” stadiums that the supporters are most lacking in their team: Strasbourg (0.63 points against 1.84 over the whole of last season), Saint -Etienne (1.13 against 1.28) and Nîmes (0.50 against 1.42).
“In Saint-Etienne, the public’s contribution is more or less 10 points per season,” said Laurent Paganelli, the former Green who is now Canal + field man. Here, you start each match 1-0 or you benefit from the equalizer or the 2-1 goal… At the moment, teams can play away as they play at home and vice versa. There is not the usual adrenaline, not the passion, nor the commitment. As we hear the coach, it changes the behavior of individuals. Before, if such and such a player wanted to go to the pressing, he would go there without asking any questions, since he did not hear the instructions. The behavior of referees and coaches is also changed. “
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Anthony Briançon, captain of the Crocos, attests that Nîmes Olympique is penalized by desertion from the hot little stadium of Costières (18,000 seats): “I noticed that we tend to let go faster than normal, as soon as ‘we take one goal, or even two… With the support of the public, we manage to find resources. Moreover, at a reduced level, it is already a lesser evil for us. The stadium being quite small, 5000 people, it grows and brings us something. Against Brest (4-0) or Rennes (2-4), we played consistent matches with the support of the public. The chants, the support of the supporters, it inhibits some players but others are sublimated thanks to the public. Overall in Nîmes, it is a lack. “
