l’Olympique Decided Late As Lyon Break Marseille Resistance: Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 Olympique de Marseille | OneFootball

L’Olympique wasn’t quite the brutal or explosive match we were expecting, but with 1st-half VAR drama, which saw Olympique Lyonnais denied a possible penalty, as well as a red card, the fixture delivered once again. Whilst Olympique Marseille had the edge in recent meetings prior to this game, Olympique Lyonnais were the side who eventually came out on top thanks to a late winner.

1st Half Analysis

To begin with, the game seemed quite even. Each side had good amounts of possession and got into good areas in attack. But the battle that looked really interesting was in the midfield. Olympique Marseille had the two holders in Pierre-Emil Højbjerg and Angel Gomes, whilst Olympique Lyonnais had four with Tanner Tessmann and Tyler Morton as well as Khalis Merah and Corentin Tolisso, with the latter having a higher starting position.

This caused Olympique Marseille quite a few issues, mainly because they were outnumbered 4 vs 2. They eventually paid the price for that when Malick Fofana was sent through on goal, only to be denied a clear goalscoring opportunity by CJ Egan-Riley, who was rightfully sent off. From that moment, Marseille couldn’t then control possession so had to sit in to contain.

Olympique Lyonnais had total control as soon as they had a man advantage but they suffered from a lack of quality in the final third. They often got into good crossing areas but consistently, whether it be from set pieces or open play, found the hands of Rulli. Without a serious box presence in attack, you’ll always find it hard to score from aerial duels when there’s a lack of height.

Olympique Lyonnais were also denied a goal as well as a penalty in the first half of the l’Olympique. On the penalty, Abner got himself into the box, went round Rulli, and because he saw Rulli come out, he chose to go down. Replays show the Marseille goalkeeper didn’t make any contact with the Olympique Lyonnais player. The goal the hosts scored was ruled out due to Malick Fofana going a bit too early with his run in behind; right decision by the linesman.

2nd Half Analysis

It followed a very similar pattern to the first half. Olympique Lyonnais held a high position due to having the extra man and so effectively had total control of pitch territory. Marseille were pinned back into a defensive shape and for at least the first 20-25 minutes of the 2nd half, they simply couldn’t get out. From this spell of dominance, however, Lyonnais were unable to capitalise.

Marseille did then have a five-minute spell when they were able to get out of Olympique Lyonnais’ stranglehold and play balls in behind on the counterattackfor Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Whilst the danger wasn’t entirely serious, the signs were there for Lyonnais that they have to stay alert in l’Olympique.

Eventually, Olympique Lyonnais were able to finally breach a resilient and tough Marseille defence to squeeze the opener over the line in the 87th minute, where the final touch came off Balerdi, making it an own goal. That proved to be enough for a big three points for the hosts, who now make it three wins from three.

Player Ratings

Olympique Lyonnais

Rémy Descamps – 6/10. He made two saves; not loads of work but he did his job when needed to.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 7/10. Always on the move to try to get on the ball, understood the timing of when to invert inside as an extra body and when to stay back as a right back.

Clinton Mata – 7/10. With Olympique Lyonnais having an extra man, it helped them keep a higher position on the pitch. From that, Clinton Mata made some really good, accurate passes to help create chances for his team.

Moussa Niakhaté – 8/10. A really solid performance. He was never afraid to drive forward with the ball and without it, he had a great physical presence, winning most of his duels.

Abner – 8/10. For a starting left back, he was making some quite unorthodox runs and movements. But it proved really effective, with Marseille confused about how to deal with his movements.

Tanner Tessmann – 9/10. He ran the game, along with his midfield partner. Whether it be from a deeper role or making runs, Marsworth had no answer for how to deal with that.

Tyler Morton – 9/10. The exact same reasons as Tessmann: outstanding individual and collective performance.

khalis Merah – 8/10. Just 18 years old and he was unbelievable in such a big game, which l’Olympique is. He ran so much, covering an insane amount of ground. A promising prospect.

Corentin Tolisso – 7/10. He wasn’t heavily involved in the game but because he isn’t a natural number 9, just like the other midfield players for Olympique Lyonnais, his movements just made it so unpredictable for Marseille.

Adam Karabec – 6/10. Got into good positions, got into the box too. But the end product was poor.

Malick Fofana – 6/10. The exact same for him as for Karabec. Got into the good areas to attack and got in and around the box too. But the end product was poor.

Olympique de Marseille

Geronimo Rulli – 7/10. He played a key part in Marseille’s defensive resilience throughout l’Olympique. He was fouled four times; he claimed many crosses. He may have conceded late on but it was a solid goalkeeping display.

Amir Murillo – 6/10. He’s done an ok game. Had a couple of tricky moments against Malick Fofana but generally did his job defensively.

Leonardo Balerdi – 7/10. He scored the unfortunate own goal, which was the decisive moment in the game but his general performance was quite good.

CJ Egan-Riley – 3/10. He ultimately cost his team by getting sent off. He didn’t need to make the challenge he made on Fofana; he just needed to smartly position himself.

Timothy Weah – 6/10. He had a positive start, getting on the ball and getting up the left flank. But the red card limited what he was able to do in the game.

Angel Gomes – 6/10. A bit like Timothy Weah, he had a positive start to the game. He was getting on the ball, getting in good positions, and making good passes. But the red card ultimately limited his game because he had to be more defensive to protect the defence.

Pierre-Emil Højbjerg – 6/10. Done his defensive job, helped protect the defenders too. Not a great performance but a good performance.

Mason Greenwood – 3/10. The less said about him, the better. Totally invisible in the game, had no impact and rightfully was hooked at halftime.

Bilal Nadir – 4/10. It was quite a tricky game for the 21 year old. He couldn’t really get involved and following the red card, Roberto De Zerbi chose to sacrifice him to bring on a defender.

Hamed Traore – 5/10. Had some involvement but not enough to make a significant impact.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6/10. He’s not as quick as he once used to be. But considering the disadvantage Marseille gave themselves for a large part of l’Olympique, he led the line well and had a couple of moments.

L’Olympique Final Thoughts

Olympique Lyonnais deservedly won the game with consistent pressure, constant control, and good ball movement in terms of rhythm and chance creation. They’d be slightly disappointed they couldn’t score more than one goal in l’Olympique but Paulo Fonseca can take plenty of positives from the game.

Olympique Marseille basically shot themselves in the foot with CJ Egan-Riley’s stupid red card and from there they were always on the back foot trying to defend their goal.