Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 7, 04/10/24
Olympique de Marseille dropped points two weeks in a row as they fell to a shocking 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-table Angers SCO. A promised bounce-back failed to emerge as two red cards coloured the evening’s events.
The Match
“If the players alternate between good and bad performances, it means that they aren’t at the level to play for OM,” Roberto De Zerbi had warned in his pre-match press conference. It was clear that the 1-0 defeat to RC Strasbourg Alsace last weekend was still fresh in the Italian manager’s mind, and the changes came thick and fast.
Amine Harit, Lilian Brassier, and Elye Wahi were all placed on the chopping block as De Zerbi brought in Valentin Carboni, Ulisses Garcia, and Neal Maupay to the starting lineup. For Carboni and Maupay in particular it was their big chance to impress. Harit’s performances had kept Carboni out, while Wahi’s price tag had perhaps done the same to his backup.
Despite the message being made loud and clear, Marseille struggled against an Angers that was happy to sit back and ask to be broken down. Les Phocéens could sweep through the midfield but came unstuck when looking for the final ball into the box, a venomous shot from Mason Greenwood in the 9th minute being the best chance.
It looked as if Marseille would find their break when Lilian Raolisoa was sent off in the 26th minute for a reckless tackle on Garcia. The referee’s original decision was upgraded from a yellow card after consulting VAR. However, there were already warning signs of what would happen next as Maupay argued and bickered with the Angers team that asked Garcia to get to his feet.
The resulting freekick was safely handled by Yahia Fofana before Maupay clattered into the goalkeeper needlessly earning a yellow, a few minutes later he would earn his second for a late tackle. Marseille’s advantage was gone and the twenty-man game suited Angers who threatened from counters.
Halftime brought a change as Jonathan Rowe was added to the fray. The Englishman opened the scoring in the 51st minute as he took advantage of Angers’ inability to clear their lines. He latched onto a loose ball in the box and poked his shot low and to the left-hand corner. The lead wouldn’t last and El Melali fired home from a free kick to keep the game in the balance.
Marseille thought they had taken the lead again when Pierre-Emile Højbjerg spotted Garcia in space. The fullback unmarked delivered a perfect cross to his right-sided counterpart Michael Amir Murillo. The ball was in the net, but VAR spotted that the ball hit Murillo’s hand before going in.
The minutes ticked away. Marseille pushed high up the pitch, but the goal wouldn’t come. On a night when De Zerbi had made it clear that changes had to be made from the defeat to Strasbourg and the gap between Les Phocéens and their rivals Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco could get no larger, the club suffered a bruising and frustrating draw to the team sat at the very bottom of the Ligue 1 table.
Marseille player ratings
Gerónimo Rulli – 7
Ulisses Garcia – 6
A promising evening for the only fit left-back in the squad. He was one of Marseille’s brightest outfield players and believed he should have helped record an equaliser, if not for Murillo’s infraction. He was replaced by Lilian Brassier in the 82nd minute.
Derek Cornelius – 5
Replaced by Adrien Rabiot after the hour mark.
Leonardo Balerdi – 5
Michael Amir Murillo – 6
Replaced by Amine Harit in the 88th minute.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 5
Geoffrey Kondogbia – 5
Luis Henrique – 4
Replaced by Elye Wahi after the hour mark.
Valentín Carboni – 4
A disappointing first start in place of Amine Harit albeit in strange circumstances considering the striker he was meant to connect with was sent off after 30 minutes. Still, Carboni did not do enough during the first half and struggled to connect with his teammates. He was taken off at half-time for Jonathan Rowe. And the Englishman showed far more danger possibly doing enough to suggest that he should be starting after the international break.
Mason Greenwood – 4
The former Manchester United forward had started the season in good form but spent most of this evening looking frustrated. His shots became increasingly more speculative and less likely to find the net. His first chance in the 9th minute perhaps being his best in a frustrating 1-1 draw.
Neal Maupay – N/A
