With two games to play and five points behind Lens, who receive Saturday the red lantern Ajaccio, already relegated for a long time, the small 1% mentioned by Clauss seems indeed to be a fair enough assessment.

Barring a huge surprise, OM will not see the Blood and Gold again and will therefore have to settle for 3rd place in the championship, which will earn them two preliminary rounds in August before having the right to find the pools of the Champions League.

"If you're a competitor, the question doesn't arise. Obviously we will believe it until the end. This 1%, we will defend it to the end, "said Clauss Thursday at a press conference.

"We have a goal but also an ego and a pride. We want to fight until the end. It's more and more complicated but it's not because it's complicated that we have to let go, "insisted the former ... Lensois.

Beyond the slim hope of C1, the Marseillais are also attached to the idea of finishing correctly a season difficult to read, where the objectives have not been achieved despite often very good performances.

Giant tifo

"I saw that OM had never exceeded 78 points in the league. We can make 79 and it would be a nice conclusion for this season, explained Ukrainian midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi to AFP. It's the last home game, the stadium will be full, we have to win absolutely."

The Velodrome will indeed be sold out again - it has been all season - especially since the supporters have planned a giant tifo, on four stands, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the coronation of 1993 in the Champions League.

Marseille fans deploy a giant and burning tifo for the visit of PSG at the Velodrome, February 26, 2023 © CHRISTOPHE SIMON / AFP/Archives

While a certain uncertainty surrounds his future and will occupy the Marseille news at the end of the season, Igor Tudor has for his part assured that the reception of Brest (14th), saved and released, had been "prepared as always".

"We have a game to win, the last one at home. We want to play a good game, finish with a great victory, a great performance and give pleasure to the tifosi like us," he said.

"This year, we played a lot of great matches, a football that pleased, and the boys always gave everything. We will probably finish 3rd. It's a nice position. We would have liked to finish first or second, but no doubt some were better than us," added the Croatian technician, this time fatalistic.

To believe that there may not even be a 1% chance...

© 2023 AFP