Ligue 1 McDonald's, matchday 14, 08/12/2024
Olympique de Marseille traveled to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard where they ran out of comfortable winners against AS Saint-Étienne (2-0).
Les Verts seemed to strike in the first minutes of the match. The club's danger man, Zuriko Davitashvili, shot at Gerónimo Rulli's goal in the third minute. It was a low shot that forced an awkward-looking save for the Argentina international. It would prove to be the hosts' best chance of the first half as Marseille looked to keep proceedings under control.
Neat passing triangles appeared across the pitch for the men in orange and Saint-Étienne could find no response to the flowing exchanges. It would be a passing move that opened the match as Marseille advanced the ball around the home side's penalty area before Maupay slotted the ball over the Saint-Étienne backline to find Adrien Rabiot.
The France international controlled the ball well with his chest before firing past Gautier Larsonneur for his first goal in a Marseille shirt. Saint-Étienne struggled to put a glove on their guests. Marseille should have increased their lead and they bombarded Larsonneur's goal with shots.
Saint-Étienne would have been happy that the score was only 1-0 at half-time and they could hope to punish Les Phocéens' waste in front of goal. However, Marseille looked set to pick up where they left off, ensuring Larsonneur's busy evening continued as he was forced into action from the opening stages.
Marseille would find their second as Mason Greenwood earned a penalty. It was a somewhat harsh decision for Saint-Étienne as Léo Pétrot bumped into the Englishman and laid him on the ground. Greenwood stepped to the spot and saw his penalty saved by Larsonneur, although the rebound fell kindly for the Marseille man and he scored with his second chance.
Substitute Elye Wahi looked to increase Marseille's lead late in the second half but, like those before him, discovered that Larsonneur was not an easy goalkeeper to get past. When regular time was over, the match was interrupted as Saint-Étienne fans caused fireworks and flares to engulf the field in an impenetrable white haze.
The smoke only delayed the inevitable as Marseille climbed into second place and Saint-Étienne slipped into the relegation zone.
Gerónimo Rulli – 5
Quentin Merlin – 6
Geoffrey Kondogbia – 6
Leonardo Balerdi – 7
Michael Amir Murillo – 7
A truly impressive achievement for the right-sided centre-back. He kept Les Verts' biggest danger completely at bay. Zuriko Davitashvili struggled to find a way into the match. Murillo marked him well and came out much better in each of their matches.
Luis Henrique – 7
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 7
Valentin Rongier – 7
At the start of the season it was not clear where Valentin Rongier would fit into this new-look Marseille. However, the former captain has shown in the past few matches that he has the intelligence and courage to play a key role for Roberto De Zerbi. This match was no different. A great reader of the game, both in attack and defense.
Adriaan Rabiot – 7
The former Paris Saint-Germain academy product is now off the court for Marseille. It was a great ending to an exceptional team effort. The midfielder plays a much more advanced role and there were a few moments where he looked a little awkward and his passes didn't find their man.
Bricklayer Greenwood – 7
Neal Maupay – 6
Gautier Larsonneur – 8
A brilliant performance from the goalkeeper. He was by far Saint-Étienne's most impressive player and the biggest reason why the scoreline looked much more competitive than the match actually reflected.
Dylan Batubinsika – 6
Just like his goalkeeper. The central defender made a good substitution despite the score. Saint-Étienne defended well and Batubinsika regularly intervened to prevent Marseille from converting control into goals.
Zuriko Davitashvili – 4
GFFN | Nick Hartland
Comments