In recent weeks, Olympique de Marseille seemed to have resumed its forward march in the league by chaining two straight victories against Troyes (1-0) then Nantes (1-0) on Wednesday. But the Olympians fell from high at home against Brest (2-1), for the 17the Ligue 1 day, Saturday 4 December.
Marseille had nevertheless entered the game better, in the footsteps of a Gerson finally found. The Brazilian midfielder (24), the club’s most expensive summer rookie this season (around 20 million euros), symbolized the return to good form of the Phocéens, after an air gap during a month of November in slow motion. Barely since the start of the season, Gerson opened the scoring against Brest (29e), his second goal in as many matches after the one scored against Nantes.
Six wins in a row for Stade Brest
But nothing has stood up to Brest residents for more than a month. Neither a Stade-Vélodrome which displayed an influx of more than 50,000 spectators, nor an unflattering history of confrontations in Ligue 1 when they travel to Marseille (ten defeats and two draws before Saturday). Michel Der Zakarian’s men overthrew Marseille thanks to Romain Faivre on penalty (53e) then a magnificent volley from the right of Franck Honorat (71e).
Enough to offer Stade Brestois a sixth success in a row – the only team in this dynamic in Ligue 1. The Bretons thus plunge OM into doubt by inflicting their first defeat in the league since October 3 (2-0 in Lille) . Rennes, Nice and Lens now have the opportunity to steal the runner-up position that the Marseillais still temporarily occupy.
This defeat also offers Paris-Saint-Germain the honorary title of autumn champion, even before their match in Lens at 9 p.m.
Lille victory against Troyes
Against Troyes, Lille snatched the 2-1 victory thanks to the inevitable Jonathan David, who came into play at half-time. Preserved for the European duel in Germany, the Canadian was involved in the two northern goals: he first equalized just after coming into play (48e), then his center back was diverted in his nets by Jimmy Giraudon (86e).
Less than 72 hours after a very solid performance in Rennes (2-1), where they had ended a series of unbeaten 13 matches for the Bretons, the Northerners finally managed to move on at home after three consecutive draws.
Picked cold by a quick and magnificent goal from Tristan Dingomé (6e), the Mastiffs, not very inspired in the first act, managed to reverse the trend in the second half. Le Losc, who had not won at home in the league for two months, temporarily climbs back to 7th place with 24 points.
