Despite being reduced to ten players as early as the 5th minute, Marseille won (3-2) a crazy “Olympico” on Sunday night on Lyon’s pitch in Ligue 1. The Geneva-born Ulisses Garcia particularly stood out by scoring a goal.
Pure madness. Olympique de Marseille, reduced to ten following the expulsion of their defender Leonardo Balerdi just 5 minutes in, snatched a victory (3-2) against Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday during the clash of the 5th round of Ligue 1.
It was Jonathan Rowe who emerged in the 95th minute to secure the three points for the Phocaean club. Rayan Cherki had, however, allowed OL to equalize… just two minutes earlier! Before this bizarre ending, the hosts had opened the scoring thanks to Duje Ćaleta-Car (53rd minute), before Marseille’s Pol Lirola (69th minute) brought both teams to level terms.
Ulisses Garcia strikes in the 81st
In the 81st minute, OM took the lead for the first time during a quick counter-attack, finished off by Ulisses Garcia. Coming on as a substitute in the 67th minute, the Geneva wingback executed a beautiful lobbed volley. This marks his first goal with Marseille and in the French league.
“A professional mistake”
This scenario understandably frustrated the Gones. “It’s unbelievable, it’s cruel,” acknowledged Lyon’s coach Pierre Sage to the press at the end of this crazy match. “We left our opponent alive and they kept hope. They seized all the opportunities and little chances we gave them. (…) It’s a significant blow to our morale. We didn’t capitalize, we gave three points back to the opponent. The scenario is insane.”
Jordan Veretout, one of his players, echoed this sentiment. “When you play eleven against ten and lead in the score, you have to know how to kill the game, to secure it. It’s tough, because in the second half, they came into our area three times to score three goals. It’s a painful defeat. We have no right to such a mistake; it’s a professional error tonight,” stated the OL midfielder, who was still wearing Marseille colors last season.