It is a subject that annoys Marseille.

Since the success in Monaco (0-2), on September 11, Pau Lopez has stolen the place of the iconic Steve Mandanda in the goals of OM.

The French international, not selected in the wake of the final phase of the League of Nations, chomping on the bench, letting his discontent rise from time to time.

Landed on loan in early July from AS Rome, the Spaniard has just chained seven games in a row, in Ligue 1 and in the Europa League, without dumpling or shine.

At the origin of this small revolution, Jorge Sampaoli returned this Friday to the subject, necessarily thorny.

“Pau Lopez arrived injured.

It was complicated for him, in a position where Mandanda had a kind of exclusivity, ”said the OM coach, who remains on two defeats in the league before the reception of Lorient on Sunday.

Sampaoli ensures that nothing is played

"For Steve, faced with this obligation of results, and after this very stressful past year, we thought he had to stop a little bit, it was starting to affect his services a bit". To believe the boiling Argentine technician, who does not avoid the cliché of the famous "healthy competition", nothing is played for the future. “When we find the real Steve Mandanda, he will become a pillar of this team again. And when both are at their best, it will be up to me to make the right decision, ”he said.

We understand between the lines that this is not yet the case. Anxious not to aggravate the situation, Pau Lopez, also present at this press conference, pledged praise to the “Fenomeno”. “I have a very, very good relationship with Steve Mandanda, and I thank him because he helped me a lot,” said the Catalan, twice caped with La Roja.

“When you arrive in a new country, with a new language, a new culture, it's never easy.

And having someone like Steve, who is such a legend of this club, has helped me tremendously.

And all this help he gave me, it says a lot about him, not only as a player but also as a man and captain of this club.

»A way for the youngest (26 years old) to recognize the moral ascendancy of his 36 year old elder.

For the sports component, however, it's a different story.

Sport

Angers-OM: "Steve is a monument", the difficult competition between the emblematic Mandanda

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French team: The absent, Guendouzi, the Hernandez brothers ... We caption you the conference of Deschamps

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