With a third consecutive success, OM brilliantly continues victories in the championship and in the Europe League. Enough to erase the ghosts of the past to bring a real breath of fresh air into an increasingly positive atmosphere within the Marseille group. But be careful of slackening during a fundamental period of the season.
And one, and two, and three... Olympique de Marseille made it three this Wednesday evening by bringing down Olympique Lyonnais (3-0) , on the pitch at the Vélodrome, during the 10th day postponed from Ligue 1 due to the incidents of October 29. A match largely dominated and controlled by Gennaro Gattuso's players who clearly did not fall into the trap set by Pierre Sage and his troops, if there was a trap. This is what allows the Phocéens to achieve a third consecutive success, in all competitions, after the previous successes gleaned last week against Ajax Amsterdam (4-3) in the Europa League and Stade Rennais in the championship (2-0). . Three victories acquired at home in a Vélodrome stadium with an electric atmosphere which has pushed its protégés well in recent times, while OM is in extraordinary form, a few weeks before the end of the year. Always a crucial period in a season since a short Christmas break can come at the right time for teams that are in poor form and break the rhythm of teams who are running strong. It will be up to Marseille to continue well and take advantage of the month of December to avoid as many trips off the road as possible.
“The match against Ajax we had success, it was not a good match like tonight. Against Rennes neither. This evening, I liked our state of mind, our attitude, the will too, the aggressiveness in the duels. What is important at the moment is to put the players in the right mood, in positions where they are comfortable ,” Gennaro Gattuso analyzed at a press conference. At the same time, it's difficult to ask more from its players who put in a complete performance against OL. While the Marseillais have already scuttled themselves in the past by letting points deemed easy slip away, they played their football with efficiency, regularity and solidity. Marseille have won three consecutive matches against Lyon in Ligue 1 for the very first time. This is OM's biggest success against OL in all competitions since April 26, 1994 - a championship match already won by the same score at the time. Confidence, consistency and cohesion that OM wants to maintain but… while remaining focused and lucid.
Nobody wants to catch fire!
Caution therefore among the Marseille troops who want to avoid the mirage of false good impressions. The season is long and despite the good accounting form and the offensive production, the complete analysis is essential: “We are very happy with these three victories, it allows us to breathe but we have not done anything yet. I don't know if it's said in France but we ate a lot of shit. We must continue to work, we have not solved all the problems. Pressure ? I was born with it, as a player I had it, as a coach too. Even more so here in Marseille. It's just that there is pressure in Marseille, with 180,000 people at the stadium over 3 matches, it's normal that there is pressure. Outside, we're going to need something to click. We think a lot about the technical aspect but in this championship, you have to be physically strong. Be better in duels, strong in 1vs1. Be meaner…” , Gattuso then continued in a press conference after his team’s victory.
Also questioned on this subject, the experienced Jordan Veretout also called for calm, taking the confrontations one after the other without planning too much: “You know that football goes very quickly. A week ago, we were at rock bottom. A week later, everyone will start to get excited. So there you have it, staying with your feet on the ground. We still have four games before the break. You have to get as many points as possible. If we want to hope for something at the end of the season, that's where it goes. And there you have it, it will already be well recovered because Lorient, I think it will be a very, very difficult match. They need to win too. We want to hang up the wagon in front, so there you go, we're going to have to put in the same ingredients as this Sunday evening if we want to hope for something, because as soon as we relax a little, we see that we can be in difficulty so there you go. Continuing in this dynamic feels good. It feels good to win and to continue to rest well, as well as to work well for the next deadlines ,” analyzed the former Roma midfielder at length in the mixed zone.
Established in place of the ill Jonathan Clauss, Michael Murillo produced a fantastic offensive performance, taking advantage of Gattuso's unique system to perfectly fulfill his role as a piston on the right flank: “Of course, I feel happy, because we won the match, an important victory to bring us closer to our objectives. I think the whole team is happy, and personally, I'm happy to have scored. At the beginning it was a bit difficult for the club and for us, because we didn't have any victories. But now I think we are on the right track and we are progressing towards our goal ,” he declared in the mixed zone. OM's schedule until the end of year celebrations could be a real positive turning point in the season with three trips (Lorient, Brighton, Montpellier) and the reception of Clermont in Ligue 1. On your marks for this marathon... to the point !