Pol Lirola (Marseille): The Revenant
Lirola played a decisive role in Marseille's dramatic 3-2 victory over Lyon, a match that saw OM reduced to ten men early in the game following a red card for Valentin Rongier in the fifth minute. Lirola, who had been largely sidelined and was close to leaving the club during the summer, was brought on in the second half by De Zerbi.
On the 69th minute, the Spaniard was played through on goal by Luis Henrique and provided a lofted finish to equalise for OM at a vital juncture in the game. If that wasn't enough, he would provide the assist for Ulisses Garcia's goal in the 82nd minute which saw OM complete a dramatic turnaround.
"We've got a group of good players and friends."
"The players on the pitch gave everything and those on the bench made the difference," smiled OM's new recruit Neal Maupay following the game in the mixed zone. "We've got a group of good players and friends, and it's a whole group that makes the difference and that the coach wants to mobilise, even if some of them only play a few minutes."
Both Lirola and Garcia had been forgotten players at times during their career at Olympique de Marseille, with Lirola having returned to the club following loan spells away from the club at Elche in 2022-2023 and Frosinone last season. Since 2021, the former Sassuolo and Fiorentina defender has made 37 appearances for Marseille, with Sunday's strike coming as his second-ever goal for the club.
With injuries and suspensions assuring a certain level of churn in Marseille's starting XI, the likes of Lirola have every chance of imposing themselves in De Zerbi's starting line-up.
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