Despite a laborious first half, OM were able to defeat Nantes after an excellent second half. A victory that puts them in 1st place before Lyon's match on Sunday.

This OM side is growing with every match. Nobody can say the contrary. If the team had already shown great things in Paris and Holland, they dealt with one of their biggest problems in the L1 this Saturday, in other words a win at the Vélodrome against a badly placed side which wiped out the memories of the games against Le Mans or Valenciennes (0-0 in both matches at home).
Unlike the last two games, the victory against Nantes allows the team to jump on an opportunity as far as the league standings are concerned. They have taken, if only provisionally, first place in the league, a first place that puts OL in danger for the first time this season before their match against Sochaux.   

A good result in the league, the match also showed OM’s ability to adapt and the strength of their bench. As was the case in Amsterdam, OM were able to change their style of play during the course of the match with the entries of Zenden and Ben Arfa at half-time. Was the impact instantaneous? The two Marseille goals from Civelli and Brandao came straight afterwards and the match turned in OM’s favour right up to the final whistle.
This was not the case in the first half. Erik Gerets started with the same side that played against Paris – only Niang coming on in place of Zenden – but everything seemed to tend towards a difficult match for OM. There was nothing of real note in the first half, apart from some good play between Brandao and Koné (2’) or a deflected volley from Civelli (11’), the game was quite dull. Nantes even showed themselves to be quite dangerous with one good cross (18’) or a headed effort from Bagayoko (35’). There was nothing that could be compared to the start of the second half put in by Marseillle.
Zenden and Ben Arfa came on for Koné and Niang, with the Dutchman firing in a cross for Brandao whose volley forced Alonzo into a great save (46’). If Valbuena saw his lob going just over the Nantes goal, OM’s activity would soon pay off.
From a Zenden free-kick out on the left, Civelli rocketed a headed effort in for the first goal of the evening (55’, 1-0). An explosion of joy at the Vélodrome which would grow even bigger just minutes later. Ben Arfa crossed for Zenden whose volley was blocked, but the Dutchman was able to cross the ball to Brandao who was able to head home (58’, 2-0). The two substitutes had turned the match, with OM outplaying a despairing Nantes side.
In great form, Ben Arfa once again played a great ball in for Valbuena, but his effort went just over the bar (79’). Their seemed to be a great open air party at the Vélodrome, with the supporters singing the merits of their heroes who had become L1 leaders. This was the conclusion of a great week and seems to promise an exciting end to the season.  









 
Emmanuel Jean
Photos : Yannick Parienti