Reduced to 10, Olympique de Marseille knew how to ignore the circumstances to obtain a draw against Nice and could even have won if Aubameyang had not seen his shot hit the crossbar in added time (2-2).
23:25 – Condemned to stand still, the match summary
Everything could have been very different. We were in added time and left to his own devices, Aubameyang summoned his last strength to force his way between Rosario and Dante and challenge Bulka. His dive was a good idea but his ball landed on the Nice crossbar. A few centimeters away, the Gabonese could have been celebrated again by a Vélodrome once again frustrated in League 1. Without this goal, OM must settle for a draw against Nice and remain at a standstill in the elite, vegetating in 8th place, tied with Lyon.
However, the men Jean-Louis Gasset showed heart to force the decision and recover from the severe expulsion of Moumbagna just before the break for a second yellow card. Before this action there was Clauss’ daring volley, which marked his return to competition in a more beautiful way. Then upon returning from the locker room, the referee seemed to compensate by awarding a more than generous penalty on Balerdi, whose foot was crushed by Cho, taken by the momentum of his clearance. Although the images showed that the Nice player had touched the ball first before hitting the Argentinian, Mr. Pignard did not change his mind and allowed Aubameyang to give his team the advantage.
Marseille had the courage not to close the game and to continue to believe in it in the wake of Veretout on all fronts but tired, they retreated and ended up being punished. On a ball returned to the axis by the head of Murillo, Bard curled just enough a volley from the left at ground level to put it out of reach of Pau Lopez, who was decisive in the first half against Sanson, and equalize. The last moments were Marseille’s but neither Ndiaye, who on his first ball found himself competing in a duel against Bulka, impeccable in the action, nor Aubameyang managed to relieve OM. A draw which does not suit Gasset and his team more than ever depends on their progress in the Europa League to hope to see Europe next season; but not Nice either. Indeed, the Azuréens were unable to take advantage of Lille’s defeat in Monaco and are four points behind the Northerners, fourth and occupying the last seat towards the Champions League. An evening where everyone condemned themselves to standing still.
23:15 – Nice wins, Marseille stalls
In the standings, the draw between Marseille and Nice does not help anyone. Indeed, if the Marseillais move up a place and move to 8th ahead of Lyon on goal difference, they remain 5 lengths behind Lens, 6th. For their part, the Azuréens miss the opportunity to catch up with the leading quartet and find themselves 4 points behind Lille, although beaten this evening in Monaco.
23:05 – Clauss’ reaction
“We had the opportunities to kill them, despite the fact that we were 10 men. We saw guys who didn’t give up. We pulled out, we gave everything. In this match, we made 2- 2, we could have won 3-2. It’s frustrating but the most frustrating thing is that we’re not moving forward.”explained Jonathan Clauss on Canal+Foot, author of his first goal at the Vélodrome on his return from injury.
22:56 – OM and Nice separate in a draw (2-2)
At the end of a contested match with many twists and turns, Olympique de Marseille was caught by Nice at the Vélodrome (2-2). Reduced to 10, the Marseillais benefited from a generous penalty at the start of the second half but did not manage to hold their advantage, giving in to a nice strike from outside the area by Bard. Aubameyang could have snatched victory in added time but his dive ball ended up on the crossbar.
22:54 – Aubameyang’s rush not rewarded!
What action for Olympique de Marseille in the heart of added time. Alone against four Nice defenders, Aubameyang takes his chance from the right side, hits and passes between Dante and Rosario to find the path leading to the area. Facing Bulka, the Gabonese stares at the Nice goalkeeper and spikes his ball which bounces off the crossbar.
22:52 – Dante clears the Marseille free kick
On the left side 30 m away, Garcia curls his free kick into the heart of the area where only two of his partners have come to position themselves. As a result, it’s Dante who is on the receiving end and clears with his head.
22:51 – Additional time: 5 minutes
The refereeing body grants five minutes of additional time in this second half between OM and Nice.
22:50 – Gasset empties his bench
In the 90th minute, the Marseille technician made his last two changes, replacing his midfielders Veretout and Kondogbia with Ounahi and Onana.
22:49 – Marseille falls back
The Marseillais are falling further and further back on the ground and are cornered in their last 30 meters. On a cross from Laborde, coming from the left, Kondogbia deflects with a header. The Ball passes next to Pau Lopez’s goal and goes out for a corner.
22:48 – Thuram slaloms through the defense
Thuram carries the ball and launches into a slalom in the heart of the Marseille defense. If he breaks the midfield line, he pushes his ball too much by trying to get around Balerdi in the area and concedes a goal kick.
22:43 – The Niçois lose themselves in counterattack
After a good exchange with Laborde in the central circle, Guessand leads a 5 against 2 situation. He sees two partners to his left but his pass is a little long. Boga catches it and jumps back to take his chance alone. His left shot is blocked and returns to Claude-Maurice, who does not see his partner in the axis, and hits above.
22:43 – Entry of Claude-Maurice
Farioli continues his coaching and 10 minutes from the end of regulation time sends Claude-Maurice onto the field in place of Cho.
22:40 – Bulka wins his duel against Ndiaye
Barely coming into play, Ndiaye is sent deep after a one-two with Aubameyang and appears alone against Bulka. Slightly shifted to the right, the Senegalese hits hard at ground level and Bulka makes the save.
22:39 – Laborde does not fit
On a corner hit rolled up from the right by Boga, Laborde beats Pau Lopez to the near post but does not knock down the ball which passes well over the top.
22:37 – Boga in the wall
On his catch from 28 m, Boudaoui goes in the right direction but is knocked to the ground by Murillo’s late charge. Behind, Boga takes responsibility but sends the ball into the wall. Great missed opportunity.
22:35 – Boga unclear
Boga works the Marseille defense on the left and gets into position to cross but his ball is sent to an area where no teammate is present.
22:32 – Bard equalizes for Nice (2-2)
On a cross from the left, Murillo clears with a header in the right axis on Bard. At 20 m, the Riviera full-back doesn’t ask any questions and hits the ball as it comes from the inside of the left. His cross shot is out of reach of Pau Lopez and lodges in the small net.
22:29 – A center too long
On the right side, Cho rolls in a cross from the left but it is too pressed for Boudaoui to be able to claim it. Pau Lopez delights in it and catches it in the air.
22:28 – Harit grimacing and injured
Just out, Harit said his left ankle had turned. The Moroccan international had ice placed on his joint.
22:25 – Double change for Nice
Following in the footsteps of Gasset, Farioli also made a change with the entries of Boudaoui and Laborde, in place of Mendy and Sanson.
22:24 – Double change for Marseille
In the 64th minute of play, Gasset made two changes with the departures of scorer Clauss, returning from injury, and Harit. They are replaced by Murillo and Gueye.
22:22 – Cho gets nothing
On the right side, Cho tries to pass with the ball but he is closed in the lane by Luis Henrique. The Niçois goes to the ground and thinks he gets a foul but the referee doesn’t whistle anything.
22:21 – Yellow card for Sanson
At the hour mark, Veretout brought out the ball for OM and was chased by Sanson who held him back by surrounding him. The Riviera community receives a warning.
22:19 – Thuram very close to taking the lead
On the right side, Sanson fixes his defender well and curls a cross from the left into the Marseille area. Thuram comes from afar and passes Clauss but is too short to cut the trajectory with his head.
22:18 – Moffi comes out
Just after the Marseille goal, Farioli decided to call his striker Moffi to the bench to start Guessand.