TOPS
It’s one of the rare satisfactions of the encounter. Preferred over Diouf in the northern midfield (Mendy was out), Neil El Aynaoui celebrated his first start in Ligue 1 this Sunday. A successful baptism of fire. Not impressed, the Lensois midfielder notably had an excellent first period. Aggressive in recovery, and penetrating with the ball. His initiatives hurt the Marseillais, who committed four fouls on the former Nancy player. Franck Haise particularly appreciated his performance “He met expectations, he had a big match offensively and defensively, with a lot of personality,” commented the RCL coach on Prime Video.
Often in the shadow of Danso and Medina, Jonathan Gradit nonetheless remains an essential element of the Lens defense. And this Sunday, the former Caennais knew how to draw the light to himself. Still as solid defensively, the 30-year-old offered his team a valuable victory, scoring the only goal of the match late in the match. His victorious header from a corner capsized Bollaert and allowed the RCL to continue their rise in the standings.
FLOPS
Sad autumn for Ligue 1. For several weeks, our championship has been collecting matches that are tasteless and of poor quality. This Lens-Marseille, highly anticipated despite the irregular results of the two clubs, has not escaped this trend. Chosen by mistakes and very weak on a technical level, the duel between Northerners and Phocaeans saw the two teams compete in clumsiness and neutralize each other until the last minutes. The Felix-Bollaert stadium, still sold out, was clearly the only player in the match. Gradit’s goal before added time finally rewarded him.
Beaten in the final minutes, the Marseillais faltered offensively throughout the match. Joaquin Correa and Ismaila Sarr, starters on the wings, again delivered very insufficient performances. Replaced at the start of the second half, the Argentinian never existed on his left wing. His friend on the right didn’t really do better. Too messy, the former Rennais did not make enough differences. He particularly stood out by blocking a strike from Harit in the first period. Disappointing since their arrival at Canebière this summer, the two men partly symbolize the generally failed transfer window of the Marseille club.
Once again, Leonardo Balerdi should attract the wrath of Marseille supporters. The Argentine defender, associated with Gigot in the central hinge, generally delivered a diligent performance. But his responsibility is total for the Lensois goal. Marking Gradit on the fatal corner, OM number 5 was surprised by the movement of the northern striker and seemed to be a spectator throughout this action which decided the fate of the match. Also failing on Wahi’s chance in the first half.
