Walter Benitez impassable, curse lifted for OM and “the anger” of Bruno Genesio

The truce in Ligue 1 will have lasted about twenty days, and the resumption of the football championship will have been sluggish between gauges of 5,000 spectators, meetings postponed because of many cases of Covid and matches that went well but did not not all of them were very spectacular.

We will still remember the first Marseille victory in Bordeaux for forty-four years, the great individual performances of Strasbourg’s Ludovic Ajorque and of Nice Walter Benitez, and finally the harsh words of the Rennes coach, Bruno Genesio, towards his beaten players. in Lens.

• Player of the weekend: Ludovic Ajorque

He is not the most media attacker in Ligue 1, but Strasbourg’s Ludovic Ajorque continues to improve for his fourth season in the League. He scored Sunday in Metz the first goal of the success (2-0) of the Alsatians with their Moselle neighbors. This is his tenth goal of the season, his fifth in six days. He ranks second provisionally in the scorers classification behind Lille’s Jonathan David (12 goals). Last season, he had already scored 16 goals in 35 games.

This 27-year-old Reunionese arrived late in France, at the age of 18 in Angers, and did not benefit from the classic footballers’ course. He never really had his chance in Anjou and he will be hardened on loan (at Poiré-sur-Vie and Luçon) in the National championship, the third division. He will then spend two seasons in Ligue 2 with Clermont before joining the elite and Racing Club de Strasbourg, in 2018.

Very skillful despite his large size (1.97 meters), collective player, Ludovic Ajorque is part of the center-forward style of play that was that of the Czech Jan Koller, with an earlier and more extensive career. Courted by German clubs, fond of Racing players, and even by English clubs, the striker could play his last season in Alsace. What could be better than setting off on a record by reaching the 20-goal mark?

• The weekend declaration

” By dint of hearing that we are one of the best teams in France, I think it is time to get back to basics, to re-perform as a team and to react quickly. ”

Bruno Genesio did not mince his words after the defeat of Rennes in Lens (1-0) on Saturday. And his words will sound familiar to the supporters of OL, his former club (2015-2019). Three defeats in the last four Ligue 1 games and one elimination in the Coupe de France in Nancy: Rennes has been slowing down sharply for a month, after having enchanted French football.

Faced with Lensois who had not won for six days in the league, Stade Rennes showed virtually nothing on Saturday. The Breton club was logically punished by a late goal from substitute Wesley Saïd (89^e). Rennes let the leading trio escape, including two of its rivals, Nice (2^e) and OM (3^e), who are five points ahead.

🗨️ “I have rarely seen my team at this level …” Bruno Génésio’s frustration after the 1⃣-0⃣ defeat of … https://t.co/O9mprZjTuc

– CanalFootClub (@Canal Football Club)

“Unacceptable service”, “Non-match”, “Catastrophic”… Bruno Genesio uses a coaching spring as old as the world: playing on the pride of his players to try to get a start. In post in Brittany since the offseason, the Rhone knows that he is expected since he notably benefited from an expensive recruitment: nearly 79.5 million euros, which ranks Rennes ninth in Europe among the most disadvantaged clubs. more expensive this summer.

Like Jean-Clair Todibo, the Niçois can congratulate their goalkeeper Walter Benitez. They owe a debt of gratitude to their 28-year-old Argentinian teammate. This disgusted the Brest attackers, yet in numerical superiority from the 20^e minute of play. He made nine saves, including five in the area, not to mention the many aerial exits that relieved his team.

Nice opened the scoring at the 13^e minute of play before Morgan Schneiderlin was kicked out and the Breton waves crashed almost relentlessly. But Christophe Galtier’s men resisted thanks to the firm hand of their last rampart and even increased their advantage at the end of the meeting thanks to Andy Delort and Amine Gouiri.

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To be conquered without peril, one triumphs without glory. Faced with Bordeaux residents greatly reduced for three weeks by numerous Covid contaminations – and in great sporting difficulty in the championship -, the Marseillais do not care a possible victory acquired without panache since they put an end, Friday, January 7, to a forty-four year curse.

The goal of Turkish Cengiz Ünder, following a poor recovery from Bordeaux goalkeeper Benoît Costil, was enough for the happiness of the Olympians and their supporters, weary of never leaving with a big smile from their multiple trips to Gironde. Before the success of this 20^e day (1-0), OM had not won on the Girondins de Bordeaux field since 1977 (2-1).

What deserves a special welcoming committee at the airport when the players return during the night. ” It is historic, what we have done, beyond the three points, it is extraordinary. I lived eight or nine years we used to come here and we never won, said Dimitri Payet. We put an end to the longest series in the history of Ligue 1 and believe me (…) we are proud of ourselves. “

⚪🔵 Chants, electric fervor, smoke … In Marseille, we know how to welcome OM players ap … https://t.co/nqnlpAMYJ0

– RMCsport (@RMC Sport)