Under pressure after the victory in the afternoon of Monaco, Olympique de Marseille responded by winning, Sunday, February 19, on the lawn of Toulouse (3-2), which allows them to recover their second place, at the end of the 24th day of Ligue 1.
With this sixth consecutive success away from home, OM confirmed their status as the best team in the championship away from home, despite a complicated first half. The Toulouse, who will have other opportunities to quickly ensure their maintenance, offered a completely different resistance than in the first leg (6-1), in December, the day after the World Cup.
The Violets, carried by their public, struck from the start (3rd) by their man in form of the moment, the young Dutch trigger Thijs Dallinga, author of his eighth goal in 2023 in all competitions, on a cross from the Danish right side Mikkel Desler.
The Marseillais, after having reacted quickly by Jonathan Clauss and Nuno Tavares, were curiously apathetic when, eliminated from the European Cup, they had not played in the middle of the week. Overwhelmed by the rapid projections of Téfécé, still just as comfortable against, they could even have conceded the break without a precious double rescue from Pau Lopez in front of Dallinga and Anthony Rouault (18th).
A team transformed in the second period
Olympian coach Igor Tudor must have passed on a hell of a soap to his players at half-time. One of them, Moroccan international Azzedine Ounahi, whom he had established for the first time since arriving in the transfer window from Angers, did not return to the field. Very discreet during the first act, like many of his teammates, he was replaced by the Ukrainian Ruslan Malinovskyi, another winter recruit.
It only took two corners, in the space of seven minutes, to turn the game around. First thanks to defender Chancel Mbemba (1-1, 52nd), opportunist, then to Turkish striker Cengiz Ünder (2-1, 59th), with a good volley validated after the intervention of the VAR.
Tavares, much sharper in the second half, thought he had put his people away for good (3-1, 78th). But the TFC, which since the start of the year has been one of the most prolific attacks in the five major European championships, has not given up. After reducing the gap signed Ado Onaiwu (3-2), the Brazilian Ratao, with another volley, again raised the volume in the stands of the Stadium, where the Haut-Garonne n have beaten Marseille, their pet peeve, since 2007.
Toulouse, whose maintenance, with 32 points, is already well underway, will not have to be ashamed of this second defeat of the year 2023 after that conceded in Paris. Especially since after having chained PSG, Rennes and OM, a more affordable triptych awaits him in the coming weeks with Reims, Clermont and Angers.
'No more pressure' playing on Sunday nights, for Tudor
In the accounting obligation to win to avoid the bad operation of the weekend after the successes in the afternoon of the four other members of the Top 5 (Paris against Lille 4-3, Monaco in Brest 2-1, Lens against Nantes 3-1 and Rennes against Clermont 2-0), OM fulfilled his contract. And can project himself more calmly on his next meeting against Paris Saint-Germain.
"It was important for us to win," said Croatian OM coach Igor Tudor. There is more pressure when we play last [on Sunday evening]. The guys wanted to get to the next game [against Paris] after a win. »
Five points separate the Parisian leader from his Marseille runner-up before this highly anticipated reunion next Sunday at the Vélodrome (8:45 p.m.) for a classic that will count in the title race, and a match in the form of revenge for the Parisians, which the OM eliminated on February 8 in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France.
