André Villas Boas admitted going through his first results crisis with OM.

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NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP

  • Olympique de Marseille host Racing club de Lens on Wednesday in a late match for the 9th day of Ligue 1.

  • If OM could be leaders in December thanks to this late match, in addition to the one against Nice, it now has another importance: get back to the top of the standings.

  • This "crisis of results", as recognized by André Villas Boas, could be due to the vagueness that surrounds the Marseille locker room as at the time of Bielsa, according to Albert Emon.

From a bonus match to a capital match.

Olympique de Marseille welcomes this Wednesday evening, at 9 p.m., the Racing Club de Lens, in a late match for the 9th day of Ligue 1. A match initially scheduled for October 30, but postponed after the Covid-19 contamination of the northern workforce.

Like the match against Nice, also postponed, a few days later.

At that time, not so distant, some supporters dreamed, with these two late games, of a possible first place in the standings with the missteps of PSG.

“This consistency can be decisive for the championship.

It's an important victory against a direct opponent, if we go to Rennes it would allow us to be next to the top of the standings, ”savored André Villas Boas after the victory against Monaco in mid-December, after a sixth victory right now.

"Absolute obligation to win"

Except that since this famous match in Rennes, the Marseillais have only managed to win one of their last six games, against Montpellier (3-1, January 6).

And their balance sheet over this period is starved with five points garnered out of 18 possible.

Olympique de Marseille are now 6th, four points from Rennes, 5th, and 10 points from PSG, new leader since last weekend.

And remains on a defeat against Nîmes, Saturday, which did a lot of harm.

"In recent matches we have not been performing, the last one was the worst," admitted defender Leandro Balerdi, who will replace Alvaro, suspended.

• André Villas-Boas' team since December 16:



❌ Rennes 2-1 OM


➖ OM 1-1 Reims


❌ Angers 2-1 OM


✅ OM 3-1 Montpellier


➖ Dijon 0-0 OM


[❌ Paris 2- 1 OM]


❌ OM 1-2 Nîmes



= 5 points out of 18 in Ligue 1 # TeamOM 🔵⚪️

- #TeamOM Officiel (@TeamOM_Officiel) January 16, 2021

Bad results which mean that even with two victories in these two late matches, OM would only return to 4th place, ahead of Rennes and two points behind Lyon, 3rd.

“We've been doing a lot of math for weeks, 'with six points we're here'.

Now we hope that will be the case.

We lost a lot of points and we have people just behind, while in front of them are a little further ", admitted André Villas Boas for whom this match will be" very important for the future.

We have an absolute obligation to win to stay close to the top ”.

The same "blur" as at the time of Bielsa

The Marseille coach even admitted going through his “first results crisis” with OM.

For the former player and the former coach of Olympique de Marseille, Albert Emon, this crisis of results is explained by the vagueness surrounding the Marseille locker room.

“We all see this lack of motivation, everyone is in the dark about recruitments, transfers, for contracts.

This period is identical to what Bielsa experienced in 2014/2015.

They are first at the break and with all the discussions endlessly postponed to March, then April, then May, the team was no longer the same.

Some say they were working too much, I think it's linked to the mentality and the vagueness that surrounded the workforce which resulted in a little less motivation, ”he says.

A reason already mentioned by AVB after the match against Nîmes, and supported by the speech of President Jacques Henri Eyraud, inviting its players to "stop making films" on their "next contract"

But according to Albert Emon, these two late games against Lens and Nice should be enough to put OM back in working order: “Metz won against Lyon, Lille is a little worse off, all these teams are in difficulty.

The OM team is great, there is quality and Villas Boas is doing a good job, there is the possibility of overhauling everything ”.

And we will quickly know since after Lens, OM continues with Monaco, then Rennes, with an air of déjà vu.

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