Olympique de Marseille and Angers SCO played a 1-1 draw on Friday night at Stade Vélodrome. Roberto De Zerbi and his team failed to secure three points for a second straight matchday, while Le SCO recorded their third consecutive draw.
After losing 1-0 last weekend to RC Strasbourg, OM looked for a bounce-back win to head into the FIFA international break with three points. The home side recorded eight total shots while Angers countered with seven, but neither side found the back of the net.
In the second half, Marseille again recorded eight total shots, but this time, they did score thanks to a goal from Jonathan Rowe in the 51st minute. It didn't take long for Angers to respond as Farid El Melali scored in the 54th minute to level the scoring 1-1.
OM was thought to have taken a 2-1 lead in the 69th minute, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review. The contest would stay tied as both teams took a point, and the result is disappointing for Marseille because they are in a tight race with AS Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain.
After the match Marseille defender Leonardo Balerdi noted to DAZN that the squad sees this result as a loss.
"For us, this feels like a loss. That’s how the locker room is reacting. It’s tough, but we need to improve. We’re starting to come together as a team, but we need to approach things differently. We can’t afford to lose at home like this. Dropping two points is not acceptable."
"We need to analyze the match because we’re disappointed. We had chances, but when we’re at home, we should be dominating the game, and we didn’t do that. In this club, we don’t have time to waste. We need to show up for the upcoming matches."
While they couldn't secure their first win of the 2024-25 Ligue 1 season, Alexandre Dujeux told DAZN that he's happy with taking one point playing in a challenging environment.
"It’s been a good evening for us. Getting a point here is definitely a positive. Last week’s match was our least consistent of the season; it just didn’t come together. De Zerbi is a fantastic coach. We set up in a way that helped us secure this point. We’re not getting too carried away, though. This should mark the beginning of something good. The team needs to understand the demands of Ligue 1."
"The players were disciplined and really listened to our game plan. We’re happy with tonight’s result, and I hope we can build on this momentum after the break. We showed some good things, and we’re taking it one match at a time as we look to move forward, but we definitely need to pick up more points."
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