A roaring 101st, a humid 101st but also a moving and finally breathless 101st at the end of the match. This Saturday afternoon, Lensois and Marseillais faced each other for the 101st time in their history in Ligue 1. The Sang et Or dreamed of equalizing at 40 victories everywhere, but were beaten on their lawn (1-3). And the weather came to the Bollaert stadium to add a little electricity since the match was played between permanent rain and squalls.
But it was first of all with a sequence full of emotions that the meeting opened. Gervais Martel, the emblematic Lensois president, who led Racing for 29 years, kicked off his 70th birthday. But it was a tired and emaciated Martel who appeared on the pitch. That same morning, he had explained in The Voice of the North having lost 17 kg and suffering from a serious illness.
Lens inefficace
From the kick-off, the Artesians showed themselves to be more determined but with a big problem of cutting edge at the end of the action. And the Marseille goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli must intervene in front of M’Bala Nzola who had put himself in too tight an angle to adjust a more dangerous shot (8th). Florian Sotoca (22nd) then especially Facundo Medina (26th) then miss the target. In summary, Lens touches the ball a little less but accelerates more than OM when it is necessary to attack. Except that then, the locals were narrow in the last gesture.
We know this scenario in football by heart: by being wasteful or believing that all it takes is a little patience, we often pay for it. And we cannot say that OM did not warn. Because little by little, Roberto de Zerbi’s men got closer. Before the break, perfectly served by Ulisses Garcia, Neal Maupay finds himself in an ideal position in front of the area but misses his shot (40th). “We have to show more aggressiveness and intensity in our actions,” hopes Lensois Adrien Thomasson at rest.
OM remains on the podium
A message perfectly received by… OM, which will make the difference in eight minutes. Maupay redeems himself from his failure in the first period, controls in the area before giving Valentin Rongier who opens the scoring with his right foot (0-1, 49th), for his first goal of the season. And in the 57th minute, on a counter after a Lens corner, Mason Greenwood shifts for Maupay who offers himself a second decisive pass by launching Luis Henrique, whose cross shot from the right is lodged in the net of Brice Samba (0- 2, 57e).
Ten minutes from the end, Lens reacted however. While Deiver Machado stumbled twice in a row in front of Rulli, Angelo Fulgini followed the action and reduced the score closely (1-2, 80th). Five minutes later, the rain turned into a cold shower for Lens: Rémy Labeau-Lascary equalized but his goal was canceled for a preliminary foul by Fulgini on Bilal Nadir just as Lens launched its counterattack. OM therefore obtains a free kick which Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg transforms into force (1-3, 88th). Hard to take for Lens, the arbitration decision was the right one. Winner for the sixth time away, OM remains the best team in France away from their stadium and consolidates their place on the podium.
