Beyond the scoreline that the Swiss Roger Federer would be proud of, OM have managed a very beneficial win this Tuesday. By heavily defeating Zurich (6-1), they have taken out an option on a qualification for the Europa Ligue, with the taste for victory returning to the Vélodrome and the draw in the match at the San Siro (1-1) keeping alive their hopes of a qualification for the next round of the Champions League, being only one point behind Milan and Madrid (6 points as opposed to 7). Their confidence also received a massive boost with the six goals that also help them out in the standings.
If the information gleaned from the encounter was useful, the performance was also very good. A lot of very good and a little less good – especially after the first half hour of play – but on the whole the impression was positive. As the minutes ticked by, OM seemed to be getting over some of their problems, before an explosive finale (3 goals in ten minutes) which brough the Vélodrome to the boil in a fantastic European evening.
But they were also, it has to be said, helped out by the Swiss, especially at the start of the encounter. In the space of 10 minutes, Zurich found themselves one, own, goal down, Aegerter (1-0, 3’) and deprived of their star Vonlanthen, who went off injured.
But the Swiss problems should take nothing away from OM’s performance. With Abriel seemingly present all over, OM suffocated their opponents during the first thirty minutes. And, just like the first goal which came from an Abriel free-kick, the second was also the work of the former Lorient player. This time there was no deflection (thankfully, as the OM players were offside) and Marseille found themselves two goals ahead after only 11 minutes of play (2-0, 11’).
An ideal situation it seemed with the play that was being proposed, full of movement and pace, characterised by a great tight angled volley from Cheyrou pushed away by Leoni (18’) and Brandao who somehow managed to miss when all alone in front of goal after an error from the Swiss defence (25’).
The start of the match had to be used as a reference, as the following 15 minutes were not in the same vein. With some hesitation from OM, the Frenchman Alphonse was able to score and rebalance the match (2-1, 31’). OM would not be serene throughout the rest of the match, despite the huge scoreline, even if, just afterwards, Leoni was decisive in front of Diawara following a set piece from Cheyrou (33’). An area of OM’s play which performed remarkably well on Tuesday.
Even if the end of the first half was difficult, the domination remained on OM’s side after the break.
Very quickly, and after a great one-two with Koné, Niang added a goal to the scoreboard, getting in just in front of Leoni (3-1, 52’). If a magnificent tackle from Bocaly on Djuric (65’) and a fantastic save by Mandanda from Tihinen (76’) put stop to any suspense, the end of the match was a great moment shared by the huge number of supporters present at the Vélodrome. First of all, Hilton took advantage of a scramble in the box to score his first goal of the season (4-1, 80’). A sublime missile from Cheyrou (87’) and finally a close range rocket of an effort from Brandao (6-1, 90’) made the match look like a demonstration and got the stands worked up. Nobody can be unhappy, such a festival of goals in the Champions League has not happened at the Vélodrome since March 1993 and a 6-0 scoreline against CSKA Moscow…

Photos of the six goals!