1st Team

Metz 0-3 OM: OM, the new heirs apparent!

Posted by
Frédéric Rostain
On Thursday 30 November 2017 at 12:00

For the fourth match of the ten-match marathon that will take the Olympians to the beginning of the festive break, Rudi Garcia has made four changes since the last outing against Guingamp last Sunday (1-0): Rolando Sakai, Zambo Anguissa and Ocampos regain a spot while Sarr, Abdennour, Lopez and Sanson are on the bench.
The cold, the rain and pressure from the Lorrains prevented OM from entering the game properly. But Rivière's goal, rightly refused for an offside position, stung the Marseillais who settled quietly into the Messine half of the field. On a center for Mitroglou, the Greek passed back to Ocampos who missed the shot. Two minutes later, Thauvin scored a goal he set up himself. On the right, he disposed of Basin on the edge of the area and unleashed his "special". Kawashima was beaten ... OM led, thanks to the first success away from the Orange Velodrome by the top Olympian scorer, and they did not loosen their grip on the home team. The Marseille club increased in strength within minutes. Mitroglou's shot, well launched by Payet, was deflected from a beautiful parade, by the garnet goalkeeper. In the wake, Mandanda was asked for a long shot from Dossevi
Unlike the match against Guingamp, where the Phocaeans have never managed to defend themselves, they protected themselves before halftime. After scoring, Thauvin turned into a passer, delivering a centre at the far post for Gustavo. The Brazilian controlled the ball before whipping past Kawashima and thus sealed his fourth goal.

Faced with the worst attack and the worst defense of the Conforama League 1 , OM continued its undermining work. The recovery of the ball was high and the offensives, more or less dangerous, were numerous. After a free kick from Payet, Amavi tried a curled shot that missed the net. Thauvin placed a header that hit the crossbar of the Japanese goalkeeper. The French international was once again in the forefront with a new breakthrough in the Metz defence but his curled shot did not find the corner.
With two goals in advance, Rudi Garcia pulled Mitroglou and gave Njie time to play. The Messins could no longer hold on under the onslaught of the Marseillais. A one-two between Thauvin and Sakai left the opposing defence like marble statues. The Japanese slipped the ball to Ocampos. The Argentine gave Kawashima no chance. Thauvin left the pitch and gave his place to Germain. The Olympians, in complete serenity, controlled the match until the final whistle. Lopez also came into play for the final minutes, bringing an extra technical touch, very useful for keeping the ball. A scissors volley from Mollet got hearts racing for a second at the Saint-Symphorien stadium, but Mandanda, who was very rarely solicited, was well placed to grab the ball. Payet, who had the final opportunity, was pushed back in a rather academic way by the FC Metz goalkeeper.

After this flawless and clean success, OM secures its tenth match without defeat and gets on the podium. With the poor performances of Monaco (a draw in Nantes) and Lyon (beaten by Lille), the Marseille club is now second in the rankings!