Happy with the result as well as the manner in which it was achieved, Pape Diouf and José Anigo give their thoughts on the OL-OM match that all OM’s fans hope is the beginning of a thrilling end to the season.

They had promised to bounce back, and they did. The draw OM brought back from Lyon is a strong indicator of the high spirits and self-confidence the OM squad has rediscovered. “It’s a good result, but I’m not stopping there,” observed Pape Diouf, taking into account that “it was an interesting match, and our sharing the points with Lyon is well-deserved, completely fair.”
Albert Emon’s players tightened the screws on OL to the point of reminding them of the elimination from the Coupe de France and the unbelievable end to the match at the Vélodrome in January that produced it – once again with Mamadou Niang at the death.
“I was rathe pleased that our team finally broke a very bad habit: that of losing when they concede the first goal,” continued the president of Olympique de Marseille. “Tonight we managed to react well. Our team showed they have abundant strength in terms of morale and they played mental strength that made all the difference.” Djibril Cissé, who conjured up the assist for the goal last night, offered these words: “Since the beginning of the year we haven’t been able to equalise after going a goal down. In that respect it’s a small victory.”
The OM side could in fact have left Lyon with all three points, according to José Anigo, speaking on OMtv: “we had the chance to take everything at the end. I think the draw was well deserved considering the number of clear-cut chances we created. We could have done more had we been more clinical in front of goal. But we’ll make do with the draw, which is a great result against Lyon, especially on their turf.”

Confirm it against Nice

A proud reaction to a lengthy period of self-doubt brought on by the defeat to Lens. “We saw that our team has real quality, that the squad has it too and that there had been a form glitch going on. In reflecting this week on our recent form, we realised we had often been quite fragile when we fel behind on the scoreboard. And this fragility meant that we weren’t finishing off matches we had dominated. I think notably at Bordeaux, but also at Nantes. Experiences like these have taught us lessons and have led us to focus even more intently on the psychological and mental aspects of the game in recent weeks. In any case, I hope the players will have realised that they have real quality,” insisted Pape Diouf.
For José Anigo, the OM squad played as a very tight unit: “We talked a lot, discussed things. We had many discussions among ourselves, the staff and the players. I think this could be the beginning of a very interesting end to the season. If we beat Nice, everyone will say that OM is back on course. We’re definitely in the running for the home stretch. We’ve always said we intend to be there or thereabouts. Our outlook is good, third place is still achievable. It’s not too far off.”
An opinion echoed by Pape Diouf: “When we look at the table mathematically, everything is still possible.”