An important duel in the race for fifth place. At the Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier HSC (8th, 45 pts) hosted Olympique de Marseille (6th, 48 pts) this Saturday evening as part of the 32nd day of Ligue 1. Unbeaten since January 30 in all competitions, the Héraultais wanted to continue their series to come back to the height of the Marseille club. The Olympians aimed to start a series and therefore temporarily overtake RC Lens, currently 5th. On the Montpellier side, Michel Der Zakarian left a 4-3-3 with his trio Mavididi-Delort-Laborde. Jorge Sampaoli started with a 5-3-2 with Luis Henrique once again on the left.
Even if there was no audience, football fans should not be late in front of their television. After 29 seconds, Delort, well launched by Ferri, quietly lobbed Mandanda. An offside was first reported but finally, the VAR validated this goal (1st, 1-0), the fastest in Ligue 1 since January 2017. Surprised by this goal, the Phocéens then began to set foot on the ball and Thauvin created his own first chance (15th). Delort answered him but Balerdi saved his team (18th). In the rain, the Montpellier residents remained effective and in the depth, Delort doubled the bet, but he was well and truly offside this time (32nd). The locals dominated (38th, 39th) but in football, everything goes very quickly.
OM can harbor regrets
Found by Kamara, Milik passed Hilton with a small bridge before adjusting Omlin with a left shot for the equalizer (43rd, 1-1). Thanks to this beautiful sequence, OM recovered and even passed in front since in the wake almost, Gueye found the net at the best of times (45th + 1, 1-2). But in this match, OM really didn’t like kicks off. From the restart, Ferri launched Laborde perfectly to the limit of offside and the latter deceived Mandanda’s vigilance for the equalizer (47th, 2-2). The battle then continued in the second half but the Marseillais put a little too much engagement, in particular Caleta-Car. For a dangerous intervention on Sambia, the Croatian saw red after the hour mark (62nd).
With one less defender, Jorge Sampaoli replaced Luis Henrique with young Perrin. A choice more than paying. After a parade by Mandanda (67th), who kept OM in the match, Payet found Perrin perfectly on a free kick. The defender placed a superb header that left Omlin on his feet (71st, 2-3). Thauvin thought to give him the break but could not find the frame (75th). But ten against eleven, OM suffered. The post first saved Mandanda (83rd), who then left a header from Congré (90th + 1). Unfortunately, the Phocéens cracked … Souqet centered for Laborde who, with a plunging header, snatched the draw (90th + 4, 3-3). In the standings, the MHSC goes 7th, while OM is still 6th.
