1st Team

Amiens 0-2 OM: N'Jie stuns Amiens

Analyse
Posted by
Frédéric Rostain
On Sunday 17 September 2017 at 05:00

By lining up a midfield composed of Gustavo and Zambo Anguissa, Rudia Garcia underlined what he'd already said: that he wanted to rotate his squad and that there was a need to add greater athletic depth to this area of the game. With respect to the first point, he also replaced Sanson with Ocampos; and N'Jie, playing up front, took Germain's place. From Pelé through to Gustavo, each of the six defensively oriented players in the team were also on the field against Konyaspor on Thursday evening. Defensive solidity is therefore what the Olympien coach is looking for. And he found it in the first half, with Amiens in the end only having one four-minute period of attacking dominance, during which Christophe Pélissier's men threatened the Marseille keeper's goal on three occasions. Of the three shots Amiens had on target, Pelé was successful in keeping out the first and dealt authoritatively with the following two.
With respect to the second point, the athletic aspect, the team needed to be able to match the physical challenge presented by the Amiens players. The physical contacts were robust right from the opening minutes of the game, with the boot in the face Ocampos received a notable example. It was a first 45 minutes of clashes, fouls and yellow cards (two for each side), though the home team were the first to take the gloves off (receiving the first two cards in the initial 15 minutes). The Olympiens upped their game by showing plenty of commitment in the challenges and both attempting to play good football and earn themselves chances. Though they had 11 shots on goal, Thauvin's attempt in the 28th minute was the only one on target.

The Marseille players got off to a perfect start in the second half by injecting rhythm and movement into their game. They initially created two chances, one each for Zambo Anguissa and Payet. The third then ended up in the back of the net. Sakai provided a good cross for N'Jie. Gouano then missed the ball right in front of the Cameroon man, and the Olympien's top scorer in the league knocked it into the net with his midriff. N'Jie then made it a double straight afterwards, getting round Gurtner to score his second goal after a good low pass along the ground from Thauvin.
Having fallen behind, the Amiens players tried to take control and play their own game, but the Marseille players didn't give them much room. Consequently, there were few opportunities in the final half hour, except for an attempt by Payet, from distance, one from Thauvin, and one from Ocampos, who tried a lob from the centre circle.

Defensively, OM controlled the game very well when they had the scoreboard advantage. Rudi Garcia and his men thus pocket three valuable league points after two losses in a row and confirm their current return to form. With 10 points from six matches, the Marseille club is now in 6th position, three places below the top three.