Marseilles (AFP)

The roof of Ligue 1 is Green, Saint-Étienne put an end to 41 years without a victory in Marseille, defeating an OM much less rigorous than in Paris, Thursday in a game late in the 1st day.

It was the week of the end of the series.

Marseille finally beat PSG (1-0) on Sunday, after twenty unsuccessful attempts, but the heroes were tired and Claude Puel's young team allowed ASSE to win at the Vélodrome for the first time since August 10, 1979.

The scorers that day (5-3) were notably called Michel Platini and Dominique Rocheteau.

Their distant successors are Romain Hamouma (6), taking advantage of a cross from Yvann Maçon and the passivity of Duje Caleta-Car, and Denis Bouanga (75), after a counter.

With this third 2-0 in as many matches, and therefore nine points on the clock, ASSE alone takes the lead in L1, ahead of Rennes, Monaco and Lille, all seven points behind.

The youth revolution of Puel this summer is going very well, the young guard has taken power and extends it to the championship.

Puel has removed executives like Wahbi Khazri, Ryad Boudebouz or Stéphane Ruffier and the "kids" are doing very well, like Wesley Fofana, who nevertheless tried to go to Leicester, or Yvan Neyou Noupa, cleaner in the middle of ground.

- Aké on the bar -

For its part, OM were far too feverish and ineffective to seriously oppose.

The bossy team at the Parc des Princes was unrecognizable and the number of lost balls was really frightening in the first half.

André Villas-Boas's “tinkering” may not have helped.

Deprived of a left side, since Jordan Amavi was suspended and Yuto Nagatomo not qualified, the Portuguese coach tried central Leonardo Balerdi on the left.

But the Argentinian didn't shine, so Villas-Boas placed him to the right at the half hour mark, swapping with Hiroki Sakai.

Balerdi also missed a header, well above (41).

In front, in the absence of Dario Benedetto, also suspended, "AVB" relaunched its formula of the Park, an attacking trio Florian Thauvin, Dimitri Payet and Maxime Lopez who switched a lot, alternating the role of tip which, the most often was occupied by "Flotov".

At the break, Villas-Boas changed his plans, put back to right side Bouna Sarr, cured of Covid-19, and a real center-forward, Marley Aké, in place of Lopez.

But the young Bitterois is still an "apprentice", he sent on the bar a center of Thauvin which deserved a better fate (54).

The "experts" Sanson and Thauvin are even more clumsy on the next action (56), which seemed to allow OM to equalize.

- Debuchy injured -

The world champion also shot a good free kick under the bar, but Jessy Moulin was watching (89).

Ballot, imprecise, OM had spoiled other opportunities, by Lopez, badly inspired (17, 44), or Thauvin (40).

Saint-Étienne also had a KO ball, missed by a hair when Denis Bouanga, unhappy, countered the strike of Adil Aouchiche (17) while Steve Mandanda seemed beaten.

The only bad news for the Greens, they quickly lost their captain Mathieu Debuchy, to injury, and replaced by Aïmen Moueffeck (9).

For Marseille, we must restart the machine, with the reception of Lille on Sunday.

It is difficult to know if the aftermath of the Clasico weighed much.

But Alvaro Gonzalez, accused by Neymar of having made racist remarks, has remained solid as a rock.

He was only in trouble on the speed of Charles Abi.

OM's supporters have no doubt been greatly missed.

The almost empty Velodrome (only 1,000 spectators) did not help to add insanity to a game that had none tonight.

For any decoration there were only a few banners and a very small smoke, a red fireworks display, launched by supporters, outside (15), and which ran aground on the roof.

The evening was not at the show for OM.

© 2020 AFP