Racing dominated OM (1-0) thanks to a late header from Jonathan Gradit, Sunday evening during the 12th day of Ligue 1, and moved up to sixth place.
The 12th day of Ligue 1 almost ended as it started, with a sad 0-0. But Jonathan Gradit played the saviors for Lens against Marseille, scoring the only goal of a very dull match in the 90th minute (1-0), Sunday November 12 at the Bollaert-Delelis stadium. This success allows the Sang et Or to move up to sixth place in the ranking, while the Phocéens remain stuck in the middle of the table, in 10th place.
The legs were visibly heavy for the two European clubs, unable to be dangerous for most of the match. No shots on target in the first period, a first real Marseille opportunity wasted by Amine Harit who sent his attempt well above in the 65th minute… The blood and gold public had the merit of not falling into a deep sleep and to encourage his team until the end.
A goal at the end of boredom
He was able to believe it because the Sang et Or had started the match well, considerably hampering Marseille’s restarts in the first period thanks to high pressure, but all Lensoise attempts fled the target (18th, 27th, 38th). “It was a complicated match, but we were more dangerous than them”Angelo Fulgini rightly noted after the meeting, at the microphone of Amazon Prime.
Bollaert’s support finally paid off, the hosts managing to create dangerous situations in front of Pau Lopez’s goal in the last quarter of an hour. Until Gradit’s liberating goal from a corner. “We hadn’t scored a lot from set pieces, today we were happy with thatwelcomed Fulgini. It feels good to win and move into the top part of the standings.”
The Marseillais, a little more inspired in the second act, may regret a lack of efficiency in the last gesture on their few opportunities. “It’s very annoying to concede a goal like that, in the last minutes. At this level, we can’t afford it. Tactically, we bothered them a lot. There weren’t many chances for the both sides, but they were more efficient than us. We are very disappointed”analyzed Marseille captain Samuel Gigot.
The 12th day ends with a locked match and the poor record of 12 goals scored in eight matches (the Brest-Strasbourg meeting was postponed). This show is not necessarily a good promotion of French football for the Professional Football League (LFP), which is currently renegotiating the TV rights of Ligue 1 for the period 2024-2029.