Marseilles (AFP)

Jorge Sampaoli made a success of his debut, Bruno Genesio less: Thanks to a late goal from Cuisance, OM beat Rennes 1-0 on Wednesday at the Stade Vélodrome in a late match of the 22nd day and his new Argentinian coach laid some foundations for his operation to regenerate the seriously ill Olympian.

Between two teams that hadn't known for a long time how to win in L1, the duel seemed to have to end with a logical 0-0 for a long time.

But Sampaoli's changes paid off in the 88th minute, with a header from substitute Cuisance, a player forgotten for weeks, on a cross from Luis Henrique, launched by Benedetto, who also came into play in the second half.

This success allows Marseille to move up to 6th place, with the hope of securing a qualification for "small" Europe and saving what remains to be saved from its catastrophic season.

He also confirms that Sampaoli may have the means to give a little life and pride to OM, at its lowest after its elimination on Sunday in the Coupe de France against the fans of Canet-en-Roussillon.

Of course, the former coach of Chile and Argentina could not straighten everything in three days, a scrub, a training and a muscular awakening.

But the Argentine technician still took some initiatives, building a three-way defense commanded by Balerdi and installing Thauvin in the heart of the game, more relay than winger, and Payet close to his center forward Milik.

- Lion in cage -

With this 3-4-1-1, OM played higher and faster than in recent weeks, which is a relative achievement, and we saw midfielders make calls in depth and not be afraid to approach the opponent's surface.

The new organization has also made it possible to find interesting positions, in particular on the right with Thauvin and Lirola, often well offset by Payet.

But there was not for as much avalanche of opportunities, with for only strong moments, a beautiful volley of the right of Milik (34th) and a penalty whistled then canceled (4th) after consulting the video, Nyamsi having touched the ball with the back, not the arm.

While the video verification dragged on, we could then see how intensely Sampaoli lived the match, spinning in his technical area like a lion in his cage.

Opposite, Genesio's more classic choices did not cause a major shock either in Stade Rennais, which celebrated its 120th anniversary on Wednesday and wore a commemorative jersey for the occasion.

Steve Mandanda was celebrating his 450 matches in Ligue 1 and until the 50th minute and a strike from Camavinga, he had very little to do.

- Revolution in progress -

The Marseille goalkeeper still trembled in the 75th minute, when Terrier hit his bar hard after a one-two with Guirassy.

On the Marseille side, the second period was rather hollow, with the constant activity of Kamara as positive points and some sparks from Thauvin, including a shot off target in the 55th minute.

But the great confusion that reigned for a few minutes after Luis Henrique's entry, when no one left on the left knew what to do, showed that Sampaoli of course still needed time to really get his hands on his new team.

But OM won and we will remember that this match should have been played on January 30, with André Villas-Boas and Julien Stephan on the benches and Jacques-Henri Eyraud as OM president.

A few hours before the scheduled kickoff, the Commandery had been attacked.

Since then, six weeks have passed and OM have experienced revolutions everywhere.

That of Sampaoli is on the march and she starts with three points.

© 2021 AFP