Marseille conceded a draw this Saturday evening against Monaco (2-2). At the start of the game, the Monegasques opened the scoring with Ben Yedder (7th) before the match changed. Launched deep after 11 minutes of play, Vitinha was slightly caught by Maripan. The Monegasque defender, to everyone’s amazement, receives a… red card. Marseille took advantage seven minutes before the break thanks to Aubameyang (38th) but Akliouche, on the gong, had put his team back in front.
In the second half, Balerdi, at fault on Akliouche’s goal, made up for it perfectly with a magnificent strike from the back of Köhn’s cage (50th). At the end of the match, Monaco even finished at 9 after a new red card inflicted on Zakaria. In added time, Vitinha even missed the inevitable… Bad operation for OM who temporarily remain 6th. The men of the Rock remain 4th.
A match that got off to a flying start. From the start, the Monegasques took the lead thanks to their captain Wissam Ben Yedder who perfectly deceived Pau Lopez (0-1, 7th) with a perfectly adjusted left foot strike. Three minutes later, Vitinha left behind Maripan’s back. The Monegasque defender knocked the Portuguese off balance and received a more than severe red card. Outnumbered, the Monegasques endured for very long minutes before breaking down. On a missed shot from Vitinha which ended on the post, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pushed the ball into the back of the net to put the Olympians back on level terms (1-1, 37th). But after a poorly negotiated corner by the Phocaeans in the final moments of added time, the Rocher players led a final counterattack. Wissam Ben Yedder fixed Balerdi perfectly before shifting Akliouche who deceived Pau Lopez to cool the Vélodrome before the break (1-2, 45th 2nd).
From the restart, the Olympians were much more offensive as after Maripan’s red card. As a symbol, it was Leonardo Balerdi, at fault on the second Monegasque goal, who sounded the revolt. On a ball recovered in midfield, he projected himself and when no one attacked him, he tried his luck. With a low strike, he deceived the Monaco goalkeeper to bring the Marseille team back up to par (2-2, 49th). Following this, the Marseillais continued to push but still failed to realize their opportunities. They almost paid dearly for a new counter led by Golovin and Ben Yedder (86th). In added time, on a final cross, Vitinha found himself alone at the far post facing an empty goal. But the Portuguese took the ball with his knee and missed the inevitable (90th 3rd).
Marseille failed to win against 9 Monegasques after the exclusion of Zakaria a few minutes earlier. Hard blow for OM who had a great opportunity to get closer to the top 4.
