OM did not allow themselves to be distanced this Sunday. While Paris and Bordeaux were winning at home, Marseille won away to Caen, thanks to a goal from Brandao.

Marseille have negotiated this week rather well, one goal forcing the decision on each occasion. A successful one on one with the keeper for Brandao opened and closed the scoring on Sunday afternoon. This allowed OM, just as it had done against Monaco two weeks ago, to leave Normandy with what they came looking for. Three points which keep OM in the podium, one point behind Paris (2’) and one ahead of Bordeaux (4’).
As we make our way into the month of March, which generally marks the start of the preliminaries surrounding the final run-in, points are starting to be worth their weight in gold.

The match

Picking up an injury to his ankle in the 9th minute, Koné had to be replaced by Wiltord. The latter played on the right in the first half, before moving to the left in the second.

The merit of Erik Gerets’s men was to do what was necessary to keep their feet on the third step of the podium.
At the start of the match, they showed the offensive intentions that we have become used to: Brandao up front, Koné alongside him and Ben Arfa pulling the strings. The ambition of the plan was not put in any doubt with the exit of the Ivory Coast international. Wiltord replaced him and was positioned on the left. Mamadou Niang and Mathieu Valbuena were both rested.
Despite all of this, the best OM chance of the first half didn’t come from an « attacker ». Cheyrou, promoted captain for the evening, grew wings inthe 13th minute, bamboozling the Caen central defensive pairing, before hitting in a solid shot from the edge of the area. Following the trajectory, Planté palmed the ball onto the crossbar, Brandao was unable to capitalise on the rebound.
This was an individual effort that, at the end of the day, was quite isolated in what was a great team performance from Marseille.
Despite all the desire that they showed, Caen were unable to take hold of the game. They did, however, have some good moments. But, their intensity was not sufficient to worry the defensive serenity of Civelli and Zubar. The Caen striker, Steve Savidan, who was marked closely throughout the match, rarely found himself in a position to shoot at goal.
A situation that Brandao did manage to find himself in, in the 66th minute, thanks to the combativity of Wiltord and a fantastic pass from Cheyrou. The Brazilian was able to do justice to the pass, going around Planté, and scoring his first goal for OM (0-1).
Afterwards, the short and direct play of OM almost brought them a second goal. A goal that the Brazilian could have scored when he hit in a good left-footed effort.
This season, when Marseille open the scoring away from home, they do not lose. The end of the match did nothing to contradict the statistic, improving a little bit more OM’s record away from the Vélodrome.