Marseille (AFP) – OM is definitely not doing well: even once morest Metz, a team playing in the depths of the ranking, Marseille did not manage to win on Friday (1-1) and the atmosphere crisis is growing around Gennaro Gattuso’s team.
Published on: 02/09/2024 – 11:23 p.m. Modified on: 02/09/2024 – 11:21 p.m.
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Let’s quickly get rid of the positive points, there are few of them. While they played 10 once morest 11 for an hour, the Marseillais were less bad than in recent weeks and they scored a nice goal which bore the mark of two winter recruits, the passer Quentin Merlin and the scorer Faris Moumbagna.
But that obviously cannot be enough as Metz (16th) remained on a series of seven defeats in a row in L1 and therefore came to the Vélodrome to take a point that had been expected for weeks.
The points abandoned on Friday will inevitably be missed in the end because OM (7th) no longer wins and no longer advances. He remains in L1 with four draws and one defeat and his only victory in 2024 took place in the Cup once morest Thionville, an N3 club.
Through large-scale meetings, OM spoke a lot this week, hoping to find in these group therapy sessions something to build the mentality that this squad lacks, according to the diagnosis of Gattuso and president Pablo Longoria.
lack of confidence
But the translation of words into action was not very convincing and everything ended under the whistles of the Vélodrome, with the leaders of the supporters groups who turned up the volume of the megaphones to express all their anger following the whistle. final.
Metz’s French defender Matthieu Udol (right) celebrates his goal during the draw once morest Marseille at the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille, France, February 9, 2024 © NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP
The risk of an open crisis is now significant and the weekend promises to be tense in Marseille, before a trip to Hamburg in the middle of the week to face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League.
The atmosphere was already tense before kick-off and unsurprisingly, the banners were out at the Vélodrome, where the supporters wanted to follow up on the messages already sent on Tuesday when they came to the Commanderie to meet the players.
In the South Bend, the most imposing summed up the general opinion well: “Nice words since July for a fiasco since February, now shut up and act!”
The Marseillais tried, laboriously, and once morest weak Messins, they logically obtained more chances than in recent weeks.
But a few gestures betray Marseille’s lack of confidence, or quality, perhaps, and until the break, Gattuso’s players shot everywhere, next to, above or even at goalkeeper Alexandre Oukidja, like Azzedine Ounahi on an easy header (42nd), but never in the net.
confused push
Above all, they made life particularly complicated for themselves, with the expulsion in the 30th minute of their captain Samuel Gigot, guilty of having very clumsily defended on Georges Mikautadze, who might go on goal.
Marseille’s Cameroonian striker Faris Moumbagna following missing a chance during the draw once morest Marseille at the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille, France, February 9, 2024 © NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP
After the break, the Marseillais still went on the attack once more and we thought that the great weakness of Metz would give them a chance to win, even with 10 men.
The impression was confirmed in the 56th minute when Moumbagna took a very good cross from Merlin (1-0) to give himself the debut at the Vélodrome that many attackers before him dreamed of, starting with poor Vitinha.
But the advantage did not hold for five minutes, Marseille quickly cracking on a poorly defended action and concluded with a header by Matthieu Udol (1-1, 61st).
The rest was confusing and futile and OM did not score. The Marseillais no longer know how to win and they can no longer hide behind absences from the CAN. Europe will perhaps offer them a little breathing space on Thursday, but that will not hide the crisis.
© 2024 AFP
