Marseille is still not moving forward. Plunged into a very unusual sea of turbulence this season, which the Marseillais had hitherto been crossing with an Olympian calm, the players of Igor Tudor left their trip to Strasbourg on Saturday with their heads even deeper in the bucket (2- 2). Beaten four times in the last six games (Ajaccio, Paris, Lens, Frankfurt), and up against the wall in the Champions League, Marseille was however on the verge of finding a little breath in Ligue 1.
What you must remember
To revive its players, Tudor had chosen to regenerate its offensive sector, aligning the Ünder-Dieng-Payet trio. A choice of coaching for a long time paid off by the good performance of this triplet, more used to the benches than to the starting lineup this season. On a decisive pass from his goalkeeper Pau Lopez, Bamba Dieng launched OM acrobatically and with some success, his shot being blocked by a Strasbourg player (0-1, 8th). Cengiz Ünder, very restless, hit him on the base of the post (25th) after being staggered by Dimitri Payet.
The second Marseille goal came from the right foot of Issa Kaboré (0-2, 35th), after a school action ideally served at the far post by Jonathan Clauss, author of his 5th offering in 2022-23. An action warmly applauded by Alexis Sanchez, who remained on the bench. Long overwhelmed in envy and aggressiveness, the Alsatians came out of their box in the last half hour, and offered La Meinau a stunning end to the match.
The incoming Lebo Mothiba first completely revived the suspense (1-2, 76th). They pushed hard to equalize, but Pau Lopez took out a double parade from elsewhere on two firecrackers from Kevin Gameiro (89th). Never mind, the 35-year-old striker never gave up and finally offered his team a draw with an absolutely magical volley in the very last seconds (2-2, 90th + 4). A draw experienced as a victory by all the people of Strasbourg, and perceived as a defeat for the Marseillais, attests to the revealing slip of the tongue from Chancel Mbemba at the microphone of Canal + Sport in the post-match.
Marseille (5th) has not been successful in L1 since September 30, and is still swimming against the tide in the Championship, where it misses the opportunity to overtake Rennes. No better omen before a decisive Tottenham reception on Tuesday in C1. The Alsatians still have only one victory this season, but thanks to Gameiro, Strasbourg has managed to get its head above water.
Player: Bamba Dieng
For his first tenure of the season, Bamba Dieng did not disappoint. Aligned at the forefront, the 22-year-old Senegalese was an interesting anchor point for his team. If he opened the scoring quickly, with a bit of luck, he was above all very available and energetic. Can his goal, his first in this 2022-23 lifting, definitely launch his Marseille season, he who had almost left La Canebière this summer? Dieng went to throw himself into the arms of his coach after scoring, a sign that his relationship with Igor Tudor is good.
The number: 4
Marseille have lost in each of their last 4 Ligue 1 games, and have not had a worse run in the Elite since April 2015 (also 4).