In the 20th match day of Ligue 1 action, Olympique Marseille hosted AS Monaco at the Orange Vélodrome. In a very tense atmosphere, the ASM held their hosts to a frustrating 1-1 draw, coming away with a very well-deserved point for their efforts.
Olympique Marseille and AS Monaco clashed this past Sunday at the Stade Vélodrome, battling for precious points as part of the 20th day of Ligue 1 activity. The result saw OM and ASM draw level with goals from Maxime Lopez and of Yuri Tielemans respectively (1-1).
The tie made Marseille drop three positions on the league table all the way to the ninth place with 28 points. For their part, Monaco retains the penultimate position with 14 points but solidifies its lead on En Avant Guingamp who sits at 20th with just 11 points. It should be noted that 12 teams have not yet played matchday 17 and six have not played matchday 18 due to rescheduling.
Tielemans equalized for the Monegasque club in the 38th minute off of services from Henrichs, which allowed his team to clinch this vital point with a draw. Maxime Lopez had scored the match’s first goal for Marseille team in the 13th minute (1-0).
With 3 shots on target (out of 7 attempts) against 2 (out of 9), the Principality’s club was arguably more offensive than the home side. Yet with 56% of possession against 44%, Rudi Garcia’s team had more control of the ball.
Special player notes
– Tielemans: captain of Monaco in the absence of Falcao (illness), he was visibly the most threatening Monegasque player in the first period. He showed desire early with a shot that sailed high over Mandanda’s crossbar (30th minute), and another under hit strike that didn’t trouble the keeper in the 31st minute. He finally opened the scoring for Monaco with a well-placed shot following a poor Marsellais clearance (38th). He was much less prolific in the second half, where he posed little threat to the opposition. He missed a great opportunity to win the match in added time, pulling a shot wide of the goal after perfect service from Fabregas (90 + 1).
– Fabregas: His first match under his new colors, the Spaniard’s debut was highly anticipated by both staff and supporters alike. Though he was not overtly involved in the team’s early movement, he was much more present as the action progressed, involving himself in some beautiful, fluid passing with his partners in the middle of the pitch. He was also quite precise in his passes, with 84% of success, despite a few lackluster set pieces. He could have registered the winning assist at the end of the match had Tielemans had better applied himself on the decisive shot (90 + 1).
AS Monaco will host rivals OGC Nice on January 16th at 7 pm.