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Top & Flop: Olympique Marseille 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain

OM pinched an engrossing encounter by a solitary goal, lifting them right back into the championship reckoning...

Nov 20, 2009 10:44:04 PM

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Ligue 1 : Olympique de Marseille

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TOP

Gabriel Heinze: A maligned presence at times, Heinze was shifted from a left-back role in which he had looked distinctly uncomfortable and was asked to play in the heart of OM’s defence. Didier Deschamps’ decision to partner him with Souleymane Diawara, a man he has worked with before in such intense matches, seemed to work a treat. Scored the goal that ultimately won the match, and this fired his defensive confidence. Was rarely caught out of position, and when he was, he corrected himself well, deflecting over a particularly dangerous chance that fell to Mevlut Erding, whom he shackled well all night.

Mamadou Sakho: While Heinze was impressing in the middle of the home side’s defence, the young centre-back was only enhancing his reputation at the opposite end of the field. PSG looked likely to be frequently caught out, particularly in the second half, but when there was a loose ball to win, Sakho did just that. Not only is the 19-year-old strong and quick, he is also switched on, winning a number of loose balls in the box that goalkeeper Gregory Coupet had failed to hold. When asked to defend, he did the simple things well. A key presence for PSG.

Fabrice Abriel: Lucho Gonzalez was deemed fit enough only for a place on the bench by head coach Didier Deschamps, so a starting berth was once again handed to Abriel, who had been a key component in OM’s previous impressive performances against Olympique Lyonnais and FC Zurich. The former Lorient man did not let his boss down in this encounter, dictating the pace of the game in the second half and proving virtually impossible to rob the ball from. Bought in the summer largely as a bit-part player, he is proving himself to be a very handy acquisition indeed, and he caused his formative club all kinds of problems. It was his free kick that instigated the goal.

FLOP

Stephane Sessegnon: Always involved and ever lively, but what did he actually do? The Beninese international remains a player who will split opinions due to his style, and he showed exactly why at Stade Velodrome. Frequently he would create a promising opening for himself only for nothing to come of it. A number of big clubs are reportedly tracking the creative midfielder, who is without doubt exciting to watch, but until he can produce some kind of meaningful end product on a consistent basis, he will continue plying his trade with a middle-ranking club such as les Parisiens.

Laurent Bonnart: Generally a threat going forward on the right hand side of Marseille’s defence, the former Le Mans man struggled to make much of an impact against les Parisiens. Defensively he looked insecure, which is somewhat unusual for a steady performer, and that will perhaps worry Deschamps prior to the big match against Milan in midweek. One slip in the second half might have let Jean-Eudes Maurice in, but the youngster’s touch was poor, allowing OM off the hook.

The match: So often in football big matches fail to live up to their billing, and this was one of those encounters. Marseille started in a very promising manner, creating two chances in the opening four minutes, hinting that a repeat of their historic 5-5 draw with Olympique Lyonnais might just be possible, but it proved not to be. There were some real highlights, Steve Mandanda’s fine save from Mevlut Erding and an even better block from Gregory Coupet, who tipped Mamadou Niang’s firecracker onto the junction of post and crossbar, but these were all too fleeting. It was an engrossing spectacle, but it was not a game that will live especially long in the memory.

Robin Bairner, Goal.com

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