No miracle at the Stade Vélodrome where the deserving Nice players conceded a 4-2 defeat, propelling Olympique de Marseille to the top of the Ligue 1 standings. Four goals by the Ayew brothers answered two goals from Traore and Civelli in a southern derby that lived up to many of its promises.
With Loyd Palun discovering the joys of top-level football due to a full infirmary on the Nice side, this Marseille-Nice match was unbalanced on paper, but the first half, although not very dynamic, ended equally with one goal each. This was after one of Ospina’s only slip-ups of the season, as he released a rather easy ball at the feet of André Ayew, who wasted no time capitalizing on this opportune chance. It’s almost against the run of play that the Olympians opened the score and, indeed, took the lead in the standings.
Few or no clear chances on either side with attempts from Ben Saada and an unstoppable Mouloungui, but the Marseille defense was vigilant without Mandanda being troubled. Despite this, Nice continued to press, and it was from a well-taken corner by Ben Saada that Civelli’s attempt, deflected by a Marseille defender, returned to Traoré’s feet, who was not asking for much, and he clinically beat Mandanda. The score was back to zero, or rather tied at one, just before halftime, despite two unawarded penalties for a Nice foul and a Marseille handball overlooked by Mr. Duhamel.
The return to action in the second half started similarly to the first, with chances on both sides. This was until Didier Deschamps’ coaching change, replacing Gignac and Abriel with Ayew and Lucho. Nice’s Sablé, sidelined due to injury, was replaced by Malaga, who was also making his first Ligue 1 appearance. Marseille’s play seemed to improve, and it was the Ayew brothers, sons of former Marseille player Abedi Pelé, who paved the way for their teammates, regaining the lead with a perfectly executed family goal. This ignited the Phocean stadium, which could very well have been extinguished minutes earlier due to another penalty overlooked by Mr. Duhamel for an evident foul by Mandanda on Traoré. From there, the Marseille steamroller was in motion, and attempts were numerous in front of Ospina’s goal.
Ljuboja was logically taken off by Eric Roy, heading straight to the locker room, and the game continued with new Olympian strikes finally bearing fruit after an hour with Jordan Ayew taking advantage of Malaga’s slip to fire past Ospina into the top corner. The gap was widened, and Marseille firmly secured their top spot. Ben Saada later made way for David Hellebuyck, who, on his return, sent a missile that only found the intersection of Mandanda’s crossbar. No more luck moments earlier for Bamago, who attempted to self-avail for a foul committed on him in the penalty area by Diawara, but his penalty was met by Mandanda. With only a few minutes of injury time left, it seemed like the score would remain, but this was without accounting for the evening’s troublemaker, Jordan Ayew, who completed his hat-trick, and the diligent Renato Civelli, who capitalized on a good cross from Hellebuyck to close the score in the 94th minute.
Of course, Nice lost in Marseille, but the score does not reflect the quality of a considerably revamped Nice team that held its own for more than an hour against a Marseille team now sitting as the leaders with this victory. The eaglets will need to present themselves with the same determination next Sunday against Caen to claim the three points that will lift them away from the relegation zone as quickly as possible.
And returning to the referees officiating each Ligue 1 matchday, it is really time to find effective solutions so that these matches are no longer at the mercy of purely human errors!
