The return of a pragmatic OM, reminiscent of Villas-Boas

At the Velodrome stadium,

The impression of a leap back.

Olympique de Marseille did the bare minimum on Sunday night, winning 1 goal to 0 against Troyes at the Stade Vélodrome.

A first victory since that against Clermont (already 1-0) on October 31, before a series of draws and defeats.

And this is the main thing for Jorge Sampaoli, three days after a defeat at Galatasaray (4-2) synonymous with elimination in the Europa League. “There is always the need to win. This is what makes it possible to survive in this profession. So victory is welcome. It was difficult lately, so it's good to have the opportunity to win again and fight with the top of the standings. We will be in second place if we win our game late, ”said the Argentine coach.

A statement, an accounting situation and a dubious quality of play, comparable to last season, when André Villas Boas was still on the Olympian bench.

It is not because the match was behind closed doors and that the lack of atmosphere sent us back to bad memories, that we are saying that.

The Marseillais did not frame a single strike during the entire first half, and it was finally Pol Lirola who saved them from experiencing a new purge by opening the scoring in the last quarter of an hour (74th) .

These are not the two clear opportunities missed by Milik (62, 71st), which erases the poor offensive performance of the Marseillais, already seen against Metz three weeks ago (0-0).

"I don't want to please anyone, I just want to win"

A pragmatism at the AVB shared by Alvaro, holder on Sunday evening. As when asked about the “less flamboyant” game proposed by his teammates: “We won. I don't want to make anyone happy, I just want to win. The team too. We have to change our mentality. I don't want to please the press, I want to win. At the end of the season, if we are 6th in the standings when we have played well, I prefer to be 1st, 2nd or 3rd. "

For Jorge Sampaoli, it is more on the inexperience side that we have to look: “We had fluctuations in the development of our game, which generated a drop in collective performance.

But we have a young and new team and I hope that we will find this image of a determined and aggressive team.

There was a period when we had to win and where we did not win.

This creates tension and haste.

"Hopefully this victory will act as a trigger for his men, who are unrecognizable since the defeat against Lens (3-2), two months ago now.

Payet always on top

Good news, however, Jorge Sampaoli can count on a Dimitri Payet in top form, unlike last season. Back in the starting eleven after his assault in Lyon, then his suspension in Turkey, the playmaker still made the difference despite a match on AC. “We are happy that Payet is back and is at his best. He is a very talented player, who makes big differences, he is a game leader. He is very useful to us in our project and I especially hope that what happened to him will not happen again, so as not to the aggressors win, ”his coach recalled.

Another reason for satisfaction, the Marseillais were able to win without Boubacar Kamara, a rare thing.

The boy, in full negotiation on a possible extension, remained seated on the bench.

“Kamara's absence was a purely sporting, rotational choice.

We played in Turkey on Thursday, it's a long journey.

His contractual situation concerns only him and the club, not me, ”he said.

Jorge Sampaoli has in any case already enough to do to restore the offensive impetus of his team seen at the start of the season, and this from Wednesday against Nantes.

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OM - ESTAC: Lirola saves the Marseillais from a new purge ... Relive this meeting with us

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OM: Dimitri Payet, the player the public likes to hate

• OM

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