OM Secure 2-1 Victory at RC Lens as Bruno Genesio Praises Team Spirit

Olympique de Marseille secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory at RC Lens on Sunday, confirming their recent resurgence with a fifth Ligue 1 win.

The result, secured by Keyliane Abdallah’s late winner, moves the club to fourth place in the standings.

The win came just three days after Marseille’s victory at Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League. According to Sports.fr, the performance in Lens had its difficulties, forcing coach Bruno Genesio to deliver a halftime assessment to his players.

Genesio’s Halftime Raising of the Voice

After Amine Gouiri put Marseille ahead inside two minutes, the visitors grew passive, allowing Lens to equalize through Florian Thauvin’s header. The first half concluded with the score 1-1, leaving Genesio visibly frustrated. The coach confirmed he intervened forcefully at the break.

“I got a bit angry, I raised my voice a bit at half-time because of that,” Genesio told reporters, as reported by Sports.fr. He pinpointed a tactical lapse after taking the lead. “We went to sleep, instead of continuing to press after the first goal, in the middle and on the wings. We settled for a bit of sterile possession. We woke up the team.”

Genesio also credited goalkeeper Jeffrey De Lange with keeping the score level. “Fortunately, Jeffrey De Lange was very, very good for us to stay at 1-1 before half-time,” he said. Without the keeper's decisive saves, the team's passive control could have turned into a large deficit.

Marseille Secured Victory Through Tactical Changes and Second-Half Intensity

The halftime talk had the intended effect. Marseille returned for the second half with greater intensity and purpose, finally capitalizing on their technical superiority. Genesio's tactical adjustments shifted the momentum decisively, as substitutes Angel Gomes and Keyliane Abdallah entered the game.

Abdallah sealed the victory, finishing off a fine move that began in midfield and was relayed by Paixao. The goal was the second time in four days that Marseille found a winner in the last quarter of an hour, a trend Genesio praised. “I’m proud of this team spirit that allows us to force the issue in the last 15 minutes,” he stated.

“Now, you know me, I’m not going to start getting carried away because we’ve done this. We have to keep working, keep this spirit in the group,” he added. “We have to enjoy it, but we have to be vigilant. We have to remain measured, as we have been since the start of the season, including during the period when we were not doing well.”

A Philosophy of Measured Progress

This victory is part of a broader turnaround for Marseille. As Le Dauphiné Libéré notes, after a difficult start to the season that saw the team briefly drop to a relegation spot, Genesio avoided panic. Instead, he focused on “work as a refuge.”

A month later, that work is paying off. details the club’s four consecutive league wins—against Troyes, Angers, Le Havre, and Toulouse—and their recovery in the Europa League.

“Every day we work not to fall into the ‘catastrophic.’ When things aren’t going well, you have to put the pieces back in place. That’s perhaps what we have done best.”

Looking ahead, Genesio outlined a cautious approach to setting new ambitions. “At the winter break, we can make a first assessment of where we are in the league and in Europe,” he told Foot Mercato.

“Then, we’ll move forward like that until the end of the season, and perhaps, in the last five or six games, see where we stand to be able to set higher objectives than we have currently.”

Context: From Crisis to Confidence

The significance of this victory is amplified by the context of Marseille’s season. recalls that just over a month ago, questions were being asked if the club risked dropping to Ligue 2, a legitimate concern after four defeats in their first five games left them below the line for the first time since the 2015-2016 season.

The current winning series is the club’s best, behind Paris. However, La Tribune also highlights the underlying fragility. While Marseille was the joint-second attack in the championship before the 10th matchday, 13 of their 20 goals came in three matches against Strasbourg, Angers, and Le Havre. Defensively, only Rennes has conceded more goals among the top half of the table.

The financial context also remains a factor. reports that owner Frank McCourt has not indicated a change in the club’s cost-cutting measures, with director of sport Grégory Lorenzi non-committal on potential departures pending a December hearing with the DNCG, the French financial governing body. Despite this, Genesio has consistently extracted strong performances from a limited squad, a point La Tribune notes: “Until now, Genesio does better with less.”

More on RC Lens: RC Lens Suffer Historic 9-1 Defeat to Como in the Champions League · Luis Enrique Defends RC Lens After 9-1 Champions League Loss to Como · Rennes and RC Lens face Olympiakos and Como in European matches Wednesday

What’s Next for Marseille

What Happened During the OM vs. Lens Match?

What was the final score of the OM vs. Lens match?

Olympique de Marseille won 2-1 at RC Lens on November 8, 2026.

What did Bruno Genesio say at halftime?

According to Sports.fr, Genesio admitted he “raised his voice” and criticized the team for becoming passive and content with “sterile possession” after taking the lead.

How has Marseille’s performance changed recently?

After a poor start, the team has won five games in Ligue 1, as noted by Le Dauphiné Libéré and Sports.fr.

What is Bruno Genesio’s approach to the team’s success?

Genesio remains cautious, emphasizing the need to “remain measured” and continue working, as he told Sports.fr and Foot Mercato, avoiding euphoria despite the positive run.