Because of the snow that fell in the Forez, the Marseillais had to spend the whole weekend in Saint-Etienne. But the Olympians will not have lost their smiles. Because if they finally had to wait until Sunday 3 p.m. to face the Greens – after the snow caused the postponement of the meeting scheduled for Saturday evening, they carried out the good operation of the weekend.
Easy winners of very pale Greens (4-2), not to say ghostly, the Marseillais consolidate their second place in Ligue 1 after the draw between Nice and Rennes on Saturday (1-1). And if OM were well helped by two penalties and an own goal from Kolodziejczak, this victory is anything but illogical as Marseille dominated the game.
There are slaps that hurt more than others, such as those received by a great cold, or administered by an old enemy. Two conditions met this Sunday for AS Saint-Etienne, corrected at home by OM in a Cauldron at first boiling, but gradually frozen by the sinking of Saint-Etienne. And again: the little gem of Lucas Gourna-Douath at the end of the meeting came to save appearances for the Greens who never seemed able to stand up to their guests of the day.
However, Denis Bouanga had ideally started the afternoon for ASSE. The Gabonese indeed saw Pau Lopez pay tribute to another Spanish goalkeeper, Luis Arconada, by committing a huge hand fault on a harmless strike (1-0, 9th). A welcome little boost from fate for the Greens. But make no mistake about it: success was on the side of OM this Sunday in Forez.
Just before the break, Dimitri Payet first equalized on a first penalty, after Mangala surrounded Caleta-Car from a corner (1-1, 45th). And this while Bouanga had just been denied a goal for offside. But that’s not all. Because if OM mastered the second act head and shoulders, with much more offensive momentum, it is thanks to two other twists of fate that the Marseillais made the break.
The first ? An improbable own goal from Kolodziejczak, who cleared the ball in the top corner after a fine save from Bernardoni. The second ? A new penalty for OM, conceded by Nordin, after dancing the samba with Gerson. This time, it was Bamba Dieng who stuck to it.
The statistics of the clear victory of the@OM_Official in Saint-Etienne land https://t.co/J4dpqMjFky#ASSEOM pic.twitter.com/Yc92I022u4
— Ligue 1 Uber Eats (@Ligue1UberEats) April 3, 2022
Amine Harit then drove home the point by scoring OM’s fourth goal. That too much for apathetic, helpless Greens and spectators of their own match. The long shot from Gourna-Douath at the end of the game softened the note, but in the end it was still the Stéphanois who paid the bill. The Marseillais are in good spirits: they will finally be able to leave Forez with three more points in their pocket, and a solid lead over their pursuers for the podium. Finally, provided that the highways are cleared of snow.