Lorient stun Marseille to shake up race for Europe
FC Lorient have already secured their safety in Ligue 1 but secured a classy 2-0 win over Marseille in a match which will have huge repercussions for the race for direct Champions League qualification by the end of the season. Panos Katseris opened the scoring for FCL, before former OM man Bamba Deing doubled the hosts' lead with a deft chip in the second period.
Habib Beye's men were rocked at the last minute with the absence of Quinten Timber, a player who has been the key cog in OM's midfield since joining in January. Instead Beye would line up with Himad Abdelli alongside Pierre-Emile Højbjerg for the Algerian's second start since also joining during the winter months. Emerson Palmieri came back into the side, as OM opted to switch to a back three in the absence of Facundo Medina.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a brace during his previous outing at the Moustoir two years ago, and the Gabon international was right in the thick of the action early on, driving down the right and sending a dangerous ball into the box in the opening seconds. After OM dominated most of the ball in the opening minutes, Les Merlus would make one break down the left which saw Pablo Katseris in-behind - Igor Paixao would intervene but he would send the ball almost into the back of his own net.
Greenwood's low strike would force Mvogo into the first save of the game, whilst Lorient defended well in their own half but posed little in terms of attacking threat until a great ball over the top of the Marseille defence found Bamba Deing. The former OM striker held off Leonardo Balerdi and Benjamin Pavard, who both mis-timed their tackles, before the ball found its way through to Panos Katseris with the finish at the back post to open the scoring for Les Merlus (27'). The hosts found joy on the counter-attack, with Marseille looking exposed after losing the ball in the attacking half.
Pablo Pagis spurned a good chance to double the lead after being played through himself, before OM would settle into an attacking pattern. Yet Les Olympiens couldn't generate a clear chance, despite throwing bodies at every corner (all five of them in the first period). Beye then chose to replace Igor Paixao with Timothy Weah, as OM moved to a 4-4-2. Geronimo Rulli was then forced to make a superb save with his feet from Pablo Pagis to begin the second half. Aubameyang then headed just wide at the far post, before trying a half-volley which struck the side-netting.
The sucker-punch came from the hosts in the second period when Pablo Pagis played through a pin-perfect pass to Bamba Dieng, and the Lorient striker simply closed down the angle on Rulli before playing a deft chip over the Argentine into the back of the net (57'). Lorient looked full of confidence, and their midfield dominated in the latter stages of the game - with Dieng once again being the effective outball for Les Merlus. Habib Beye's side looked exhausted mentally, with Ethan Nwaneri coming on with Bilal Nadir but the changes not immediately impacting the game.
Marseille now lose ground in the race for Champions League qualifcation, dropping into fourth place with Lyon set to face Paris Saint-Germain tomorrow evening.
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