Olympique de Marseille cannot do it. After three draws and a defeat in the championship, the Phocéens conceded the sharing of points when Metz came this Friday evening in the championship at the Vélodrome stadium (1-1). Gennaro Gattuso’s men were reduced to ten after the expulsion of Gigot at the half-hour mark. Dominant, OM scored a first goal through Moumbagna (56th) but the visitors equalized straight away thanks to Udol (61st). OM stagnates in 7th place in the championship before the rest of the 21st day.
So much regret for Olympique de Marseille at the end of this meeting. Dominant, the Marseillais never managed to realize their numerous opportunities. Faced with Messins who, as usual, left possession to their opponent, the Phocaeans lacked technical accuracy as soon as they approached the surface. Alexandre Oukidja twice escaped the referee’s sanctions, after missed outings on Ndiaye (12th) and on Gigot a few minutes later (18th).
The Marseille captain then turned the match around but not in the direction they were hoping for. Facing Mikautadze who had attempted the big bridge, Samuel Gigot held back the Metz attacker who was heading towards the Marseille goal. First punished with a simple yellow card, the color turned red and the defender left his partners outnumbered (30th). As if suddenly awakened, the FC Metz players projected themselves much more towards the opposing surface and seemed to have regained confidence following this exclusion. But neither team was able to take the lead before returning to the locker room.
From the start of the second half, Messins were much more offensive. Pau Lopez had to work twice (49th, 51st) to keep OM in the match. Then in an action which resembled all the other Marseille occasions until then, it was Faris Moumbagna who came to deliver the Vélodrome (1-0, 56th). Calm thanks to this advance, the Marseillais subsequently relaxed except that the visitors absolutely did not admit defeat.
On a poorly cleared corner, Lamine Camara focused on his center and placed the ball on the head of his captain who crossed perfectly to send the ball into the back of the opposing net (1-1, 60th). Stunned, the OM players were whistled again by their audience but they were unable to react. Faced with an immense Alexandre Oukidja (5 saves, 11 balls recovered), the Marseillais returned to the locker room empty-handed, only taking home the point from the draw.
A bad operation for the Olympians before challenging Shaktar Donestk in the Europa League on Thursday February 15 and traveling to Brest on Sunday December 18 in the evening (9 p.m.).
