Ligue 1, Round 17, 20/12/23
Olympique de Marseille had to rely on a second-half equaliser from Jordan Veretout to secure a draw against Montpellier HSC (1-1) on Wednesday.
Marseille went into the game off the back of a five-game unbeaten run in Ligue 1 and Gennaro Gattuso’s side were looking to finish the calendar year on a high. However, it was Montpellier, who returned to winning ways after a barren run over the weekend, who looked the most dangerous in the first half, despite limited possession.
Khalil Fayad found himself in dangerous positions frequently, and whilst he failed to take a golden headed chance in the opening minutes, he made no mistake midway through the first half, latching onto Maxime Estève’s near post flick-on, rising above Jonathan Clauss and nodding home at the back post.
Veretout denied once, but not twice
Marseille dominated possession but struggled to create clear openings, in contrast to Montpellier, who were extremely threatening with their limited time on the ball. Akor Adams was particularly wasteful in and around the Marseille box, and he should have doubled MHSC’s advantage after a Leonardo Balerdi error gifted him possession inside the box. He lacked the clinical touch to make it count.
Veretout almost netted the equaliser just seconds after the restart, and whilst Benjamin Lecomte denied him on that occasion, he was powerless to stop the France international’s shot minutes later. After getting the equaliser, OM didn’t push on and they failed to create further chances.
Misbehaviour from the Montpellier fans, who were launching fireworks from behind the goal, disrupted the rhythm of the game late on as both sides tried to profit from broken play, but neither side over-committed, and neither side created a chance of note. Montpellier and Marseille therefore had to settle for a draw. Les Phocéens’ winning streak is halted at four, but their unbeaten streak in Ligue 1 is extended to six games.
Marseille player ratings
Pau Lopez – 6
Leonardo Balerdi – 3
A sloppy backpass in the first half almost gifted a goal to Adams, which could have proven more costly had the Nigerian shown a more clinical touch.
Samuel Gigot – 5
Chancel Mbemba – 6
Michael Murillo – 5
Geoffrey Kondogbia – 5
Jordan Veretout – 6
Azzedine Ounahi – 4
Jonathan Clauss – 5
Iliman Ndiaye – 5
Involved but largely ineffective. The former Sheffield United man was a livewire and he was certainly more tidy in possession but he couldn’t make the impact that his efforts deserve.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 4
Montpellier player ratings
Khalil Fayad – 6
Influential, not only by scoring the opener in the first half but also in the play in general. He found spaces well and distributed the ball to good effect before his withdrawal due to injury on the hour mark.
Akor Adams – 3
Téji Savanier – 7
Majestic in a deeper role. His ability to not only see a pass but pull it off, no matter how difficult, is invaluable to Montpellier. His side were dangerous in transition and it was thanks to Savanier, who acted almost like a quarterback in his distribution and vision of the play.
