It was a long time coming. In the ascendancy since the beginning of 2008, Djibril Cissé confirmed his complete return to form against Valenciennes. The man from Arles scored twice and worked tirelessly to win the ball back, popping up everywhere and taking part in all Om’s good moves in front of his home fans who chanted his name all match. But the positives in this match weren’t all to do with the OM striker. Though they conceded several chances in the first half, the Olympiens had already secured a buffer after Cissé scored on the half-hour mark (28’). Freed up by Rodriguez’s goal at the start of the second half (51’), they had the measure of their opponents and went three up through Cissé’s second (75’). Audel’s strike for the visitors (82’) did nothing to change the impression of OM’s clinical finishing and attacking ease despite VA’s strong push in the latter stages of the game.

“Quite simply, I feel a lot better.” Djibril Cissé’s words in the Vélodrome’s press hall were clearly illustrated by his first goal. After the ball was won back in the midfield, Cana released Cissé with a long pass and he beat Penneteau easily with a side-footed effort (28’, 1-0). Timing, speed, a strong call and a goal that did OM the world of good, having been pinned down somewhat by the men from the North, who had created several shooting chances in the first half. Happily, Mandanda was, once again, having a huge night, managing to save from Belmadi’s volley (16’), Audel (36’) and Roudet (25’)and then once gain from former Olympien Belmadi (37’). OM’s efforts were restricted to a solitary raid from Nasri that ended in a blocked shot, and Akalé’s one-on-one with Penneteau that saw the saw the VA keeper save bravely from the feet of the OM attacker (24’) – in essence, OM had a tough first half. “A laborious first half with the best possible outcome,” as it was summed up by Pape Diouf.
After the break and a few strong offensive moves, Cheyrou’s corner found Rodriguez, whose header doubled the home side’s advantage (51’, 2-0). The goal effectively freed up the Olympiens, still nursing the wounds from their losses to Rennes and Auxerre. Always strongly implicated in the attacking chain, Cheyrou had a header that went over (61’) and then Cissé hit the bar with a thundering volley (63’). OM’s attacking line up worked well together, notably the combination Nasri-Cissé-Valbuena.
However, Mandanda was again called in to action to save from Roudet (68’) with an impressive dive when one-on-one with the VA striker. Much more effective in their finishing, the Marseillais pushed on and widened the gap soon afterwards. On a deflected cross from Zenden – who had come on at the break to replace Akalé – Cissé scored his second of the game and his 4th in 4 matches with a dipping header (75’, 3-0).
A mix-up between Rodriguez and Mandanda gave Audel the opening he needed to reduce the deficit (88’, 3-1) but the rest of the chances at the end of the match fell to OM. Nasri had two of them (88’ and 91’) and Zenden (89’), on the end of a stunning team move, came agonisingly close to pushing OM further in front in their win that sees them climb back to 10th place on the table after a tough patch and also make a glorious return to the Vélodrome and their home fans.

Emmanuel Jean
Photos: Yannick Parienti