Lyon vs. Marseille: Five Classic Olympique clashes
Legends
A rivalry born out of regional and fierce sporting rivalry down the years, Marseille vs Lyon has always provided box-office entertainment in Ligue 1 as well as France’s cup competitions. Let’s take a look at some of the most memorable clashes between the two Olympic sides:
Marseille 5-5 Lyon : Ligue 1 (November 2009)
Lyon’s historic Stade de Gerland witnessed one of the highest scoring matches in Ligue 1 back in 2009 against Les Olympiens. It only took until the third minute for Miralem Pjanic to open the scoring for the home side, preceding unbridled scoring chaos as OM and OL kept each other at bay - going into half-time at 2-2. Marseille would extend their lead to 4-2 in the second half before Lisandro Lopez’s brace for Lyon saw the game level at 4-4. Les Gones went ahead 5-4 through Michel Bastos before Marseille dramatically equalised through an own goal in injury time. Goals galore.
Marseille 1-4 Lyon : Ligue 1 (October 2006)
Lyon handed Marseille a heavy 4-1 defeat at the Stade Vélodrome. Despite Marseille's recovery from their early 2000s crisis, Lyon dominated with Juninho scoring two free kicks, a young Karim Benzema adding a goal, and Kim Källström sealing the victory. It marked the second time in three years that Lyon humiliated Marseille 4-1 at Stade Vélodrome, replicating their 2003 feat.
Marseille 1-0 Lyon : 2011-2012 French League Cup Final
Marseille won their third consecutive French League Cup thanks to an extra-time strike from Brazilian forward Brandão after a tightly contested final at the Stade de France in April 2012. It would be the last trophy OM would lift up until the present day.
Lyon 3-1 Marseille : Ligue 1 (May 2009)
It was a crucial end-of-season clash as Lyon dealt a huge blow to OM’s title aspirations. Inspired by Karim Benzema's first-half brace and Juninho's late goal, Les Gones secured their first win over Marseille since January 2007. Despite a consolation goal from Sylvain Wiltord, Marseille suffered a significant setback in their title chase, ultimately relinquishing the initiative to Bordeaux, who went on to win the league. The match was watched by 2.93 million viewers, a record in the history of Ligue 1.
Marseille 3-0 Lyon : Ligue 1 (December 2023)
Being played at a postponed date after Lyon manager Fabio Grosso was injured during an attack on OL’s team bus at the Vélodrome, Marseille dominated with a 3-0 win over their rivals thanks to goals from Vitinha, Michael amir Murillo, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. It was Gattuso’s second win in Ligue 1 as OM manager.
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