Marseille have had a difficult month of March with a great number of games and three defeats against Saint-Petersburg, Carquefou and Sochaux at the Vélodrome. Thankfully for their morale, OM managed to bring back a win from their game against Lorient. Falling behind Eric Gerets’s men got back into the game thanks to Kanga Akalé before taking the lead through Mamadou Niang after an inch perfect cross from Laurent Bonnart. The fullbacks attacking play allowed OM to bring back three precious points from Brittany. «Against Lorient, I could play more a more attacking role as we had a lot of possession in the second half. In a match, I always like to make my direct opponent defend more against me than me him , states Laurent Bonnart who hasn’t forgotten his principal role, I try to make forward runs in order to push him back and tire him out. With all the effort he has to put in, he will be less lucid and it’s at that moment that I profit from the situation. I know, however, that I am a defender, I like getting forward, but only once my job is done ».

After this victory, the Marseille players are hoping to start a new run of wins and recreate the good dynamic they had at the start of the year. They have put in a lot of effort in training and during matches in order to be part of the final sprint for the finish. «We had to get back to basics, we have talked a lot amongst ourselves, declares Laurent Bonnart. The balance in a team is often fragile, we needed a wake-up call. We’ve always done what was necessary when we had to and we need to do this in every game ». The win over Lorient and the exciting end of season run in have managed to put a smile on the faces of the OM squad, who are enjoying being together and are keeping in mind their objectives before the game against Lyon. «We’ve been having fun on the pitch for a while now and we can lift our game for the reception of Lyon, maybe even more, we proved that against them earlier in the season. The important thing is to remain concentrated throughout the entire game » says Laurent Bonnart.
«We are going to give everything we have, it’s a great game to play in. We know all about Lyon, they have completely dominated the league and they are incredibly strong in all departments », underlines Steve Mandanda, who pulled out a number of decisive saves against Lorient.

OL, leader with a nine point lead with only 7 games to go, are not unbeatable. OM proved that earlier in the season at Gerland, they are the only team in L1 who have done that this season. If we want to beat them, we have to play the best we can » concludes Laurent Bonnart.