Olympique de Marseille relaunched in the championship against Lens. CHRISTOPHE SIMON / AFP
Thanks to a goal scored at the very end of the match by Gueye, OM dominated Lens (2-1) and are back in the race for Europe.
OM is not giving up! Unable to win in the last five days of Ligue 1, the Marseille club relaunched itself in the race for Europe, winning against Lens (2-1). A narrow success but oh so precious for the Marseillais, who moved up to seventh place in the ranking. Two points behind the RCL, which confirms its difficulties at this very difficult end to the season.
Aubameyang strikes from the start
At the end of a very spectacular 31st day, this closing match started with a bang. Under the leadership of the inevitable Aubemayang, who opened the scoring after less than a minute of play (1-0, 1st). The Marseille striker even got himself a break point (13th), during a very intense first quarter of an hour. If the pace finally dropped over the first period, Lens found the resources to react. Quickly enterprising despite the contrary scenario, the Lensois nevertheless lacked efficiency until the break. Like Wahi’s huge miss, who missed the target after going around Lopez (12th). As a symbol of the crisis of confidence that the Lensois striker is currently going through.
The unexpected start of OM, before Atalanta
Chosen by fouls and technical errors, the second act quickly saw OM lose all control in the game. As often in recent weeks, the Phocéens collapsed physically from the hour mark on. The Sang et Or were struggled for a long time in the last thirty meters, but they ended up equalizing, on a well-placed header from Saïd (1-1, 77th). At this stage of the match, OM seemed off to a bad start. But as if by magic, Jean-Louis Gasset’s men immediately found some juice and momentum. An unexpected start. But paying. Pushed by their audience, the Marseillais finally snatched victory. Gueye was able to exploit an error from Haïdara to offer his team three crucial points in the race for Europe (2-1, 85th).
Winner in a landslide, OM scored a double blow. In addition to relaunching in the championship, three days before the end of the season, the Marseille club gained confidence, before facing Atalanta Bergamo in the semi-finals of the Europa League. The Marseillais have four days to prepare for the first leg, scheduled for Thursday at a Vélodrome which promises to be incandescent.
