Five points separate the Parisian leader from his Marseille runner-up before their highly anticipated reunion next Sunday at the Vélodrome (8:45 p.m.) for a classic that will count in the title race.

In the accounting obligation to impose themselves to avoid the bad operation of the weekend after the successes in the afternoon of the four other members of the Top 5 (Paris, Monaco, Lens and Rennes), OM fulfilled their CONTRACT.

With this sixth consecutive success away from its bases, the Provençal club, temporarily dislodged from second place by Monaco, regained its property and confirmed its status as the best team in the championship away from home.

But the Toulouse, who will have other opportunities to quickly ensure their maintenance, offered him a completely different resistance than in the first leg (6-1), in December, the day after the World Cup.

The Violets, carried by their public, struck from the start (3rd) by their man in form of the moment, the young Dutch trigger Thijs Dallinga, author of his 8th goal in 2023 in all competitions, on a cross from the Danish right side Mikkel Desler, on his 28th birthday.

The Marseillais, after having reacted quickly by Jonathan Clauss (10th) and Nuno Tavares (11th), were curiously apathetic when, eliminated from the European Cup, they had not played in the middle of the week.

Chancel Mbemba scorer for OM in Toulouse, February 19, 2023 © Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP

Overwhelmed by the rapid projections of Téfécé, still just as comfortable against, they could even have conceded the break without a precious double rescue from Pau Lopez in front of Dallinga and Anthony Rouault (18th).

Ounahi released at the break

Olympian coach Igor Tudor must have passed on a hell of a soap to his players at half-time.

One of them, Moroccan international Azzedine Ounahi, whom he had started for the first time since arriving in the transfer window from Angers, did not return to the field.

The Marseillais Azzedine Ounahi (d) in the fight with the Toulousain Zakaria Aboukhlal, February 19, 2023 at the Stadium © Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP

Very discreet during the first act, like many of his teammates, he was replaced by the Ukrainian Ruslan Malinovskyi, another winter recruit.

It only took two corners, in the space of seven minutes, to turn the game around.

First thanks to defender Chancel Mbemba (52nd), opportunist, then to Turkish striker Cengiz Ünder (59th), with a good volley validated after the intervention of the VAR.

Tavares, much sharper in the second half, thought he had put his people permanently in the shelter (78th).

But the TFC, which since the start of the year has been one of the most prolific attacks in the five major European championships, has not given up.

The Brazilian Ratao, with another volley, again raised the volume in the stands of the Stadium, where the Haut-Garonnais have not beaten Marseille, their pet peeve, since 2007.

Toulouse, whose maintenance, with 32 points, is already well underway, will not have to be ashamed of this second defeat of the year 2023 after that conceded in Paris.

Especially since after having chained PSG, Rennes and OM, a more affordable triptych awaits him in the coming weeks with Reims, Clermont and Angers.

The Marseillais will undoubtedly find it more difficult to project themselves beyond the next match, a match in the form of revenge for the Parisians, whom OM eliminated on February 8 in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France .

© 2023 AFP