Dimitri Payet, double scorer with Marseille against Montpellier in Ligue 1, reacts after scoring on August 8, 2021 at La Mosson in Montpellier / AFP
A double from Dimitri Payet and a goal from Turkish rookie Cengiz Ünder allowed Marseille Sampaoli to make a successful start on Sunday by overthrowing Montpellier (3-2), at the end of the first day of Ligue 1, after a meeting interrupted for ten minutes.
Led to the break (0-2) following a goal against its own camp by Brazilian defender Luan Perez (30th) and Gaëtan Laborde (34th), OM found the resources to push the team to fault rejuvenated by the new technician from Hérault Olivier Dall’Oglio.
Thanks to this first success at La Mosson, where it had not won since February 2, 2016, OM moved to the forefront and ideally launched their season, before reuniting with the Stade Vélodrome on Sunday in front of their old rival. Bordeaux.
The entry into the matter of the Phocéens was however tarnished by throws of projectiles from the stands which touched the Marseille players and pushed the referee to interrupt the meeting in the 89th minute. After an interruption of ten minutes, the match finally resumed.
Gaetan Laborde (d) after scoring Montpellier’s second goal against Marseille in Ligue 1 on August 8, 2021 at La Mosson in M / ontpellier / AFP
In the wake of a rather successful preparation and completed by a success in front of Villareal (2-1), OM struggled for a long time to control this meeting and relied on its two individuals: Payet, who confirmed his good start of the season, and Ünder.
While waiting for potential recruits, in particular from lane players, and especially the return of his Polish center-forward Arkadiusz Milik, recovering after a knee injury, Marseille has succeeded most and temporarily masked certain defensive flaws.
Diminished by the unavailability of his recruit and future defense boss Mamadou Sakho, in the recovery phase, of his strategist Téji Savanier, injured in the iliac crest with the French Olympic team, and of the Swiss goalkeeper Jonas Omlin, Montpellier has exposed the same defensive concerns as last season and broke down late in the game.
A three-step return
In a boiling Mosson stadium, despite the size reduced to 13,500 spectators and the Ultras strike, Marseille reversed the match in twelve minutes thanks to the Turkish international Ünder (67th) and the inevitable Payet, author of a blow splendid frank (74th) and a majestic acceleration punctuated by a goal (79th).
Jorge Sampaoli, Argentine coach of Marseille, during the L1 match against Montpellier on August 8, 2021 at La Mosson in Montpellier / AFP
The return of OM, in three stages, was consecutive to the entry of center forward Dario Benedetto who replaced the Brazilian Gerson Santos da Silva, completely transparent. By fixing the central defense of Hérault, it opened spaces to its partners, in particular Payet.
Until then, Marseille had played at the pace of a senator. If he had a few blows of brilliance by Payet and Ünder, the young Montpellier goalkeeper Dimitry Bertaud had saved the house.
The Marseillais had suffered a real cold shower during the first period. For half an hour, faithful to Sampaoli’s will, they displayed a somewhat sterile collective mastery, and lacked precision on a strike from Mattéo Guendouzi (20th), a header from William Saliba (22nd). And especially in the first minutes, Dimitri Payet was refused a goal for an offside (3rd).
If Konrad de la Fuente, preferred to Luis Henrique on the left side, and Cengiz Ünder troubled the young Hérault defense, OM never found playmakers Payet and the Brazilian Gerson.
Montpellier, rather well in place, had drawn by his inevitable pair of attackers: Andy Delort and Gaëtan Laborde by scoring twice in less than five minutes. In the 30th minute, Brazilian defender Luan Perez beat his own goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, under pressure from Laborde, after a cross from Delort. Four minutes later, Laborde trapped Mandanda with a curled shot in the top window.
But, this OM really has the character of its Argentinian technician Jorge Sampaoli.
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