TOPS
The Metz goalkeeper almost had the perfect match. Lucky in the first period not to provoke penalties on Ndiaye, flagged offside (12th) and on Gigot whom he hit during his exit (18th), Alexandre Oukidja was imperial thereafter. Whether in the air where he came to reassure his block with authoritarian ball catches or on his line on the rare shots on target coming from the Marseille attackers, the Algerian goalkeeper will have produced a boss match (5 saves, 11 balls recovered) . On the opposing goal, after having repelled a first strike from Aubameyang, he could do nothing against Moumbagna who adjusted him from close range.
The captain of this Metz team was exemplary from the start to the end of the meeting. With a game where they leave possession to their opponents, the Metz defenders expected to be heavily called upon during this evening. But that didn’t seem to bother Mathieu Udol. Often rushed at first, he perfectly came to close the spaces in the second curtain in order to cut short or hinder OM’s chances as much as possible. After the locals opened the score, it was he who crossed his head perfectly to deceive Pau Lopez and put his team back in the game (1-1, 60th). Generous in his efforts, captain Metz set an example at the end of the match for his entire block to snatch a precious point and above all put an end to FC Metz’s series of defeats.
FLOPS
The Marseille captain only played his role as central defender for 30 minutes. Little worried until then, Samuel Gigot therefore expected to spend a quiet evening against Messins who only proceeded against and who did not want to keep the ball. But in a duel with Georges Mikautadze, who had attempted a big bridge full of mischief, the Frenchman held him back. Judged guilty of having destroyed a goal action, he collected a red card which caused too big holes in the Marseille midfield.
Dominating is not winning. Here are the words that best sum up the evening at Olympique de Marseille. From the start, the local players showed confidence. Between the calls behind the defense, the taking of initiative or the numerous combinations, everything seemed to be only a matter of time before finding the flaw in the Metz defense. Except that by dint of taking their time, the OM players also began to suffer after the expulsion of their captain. In all, the Marseillais struck 18 times towards Alexandre Oukidja’s goal, only hitting 6 of these attempts. After the first goal, the lack of technical accuracy returned and the Metz goalkeeper was never really worried. The Phocaeans only leave with a single point, therefore, logical given the lack of realism they showed.
