D-3, Marseille beats Monaco…

By: Magnusson | December 10th, 2007

I had a few problems logging in this weekend. And i’ll spare you the details and the preview of the Monaco game. Here is the debriefing though.
Marseille played a good game given the circumstances. None of the players were there to get hurt and none of them played to really win the match. We won on two very lucky breaks and the fact that Monaco came to defend helped us tremendously.All our players had their minds set onLiverpool. And thank god Monaco didn’t play in red because the first half was defnintly a disgrace. It was as if players were pûrposefully slowing down the pace not to tire themselves.
We were wearing black armbands because of the recent passing of Edouard Kula, legendary player of the 72/73 season where we won EVERYTHING. May he Rest in peace.

HOW DID THEY PLAY?

Steve Mandanda: He must have been pleased to have finally kept a clean sheetafter a very well managed match despite difficult conditions for a keeper (wind, little opportunities for his opponents so constant focus needed). Mandanda has remained focused enough to repell a perfect strikehave from Piquionne who could have revived Monaco in the last fifteen. All in all a pretty quiet match but he still is super cold before his goal.

Taye Taiwo hardly ever really convinced us this year. He seemed applied in the first half, the Nigerian did not have a very relevant first halfon his left side. More relaxed in the second period, he tried a few shots including one that flirted with the top corner of Roma’s cage in the final match. An adequate game but maybe he hasn’t done enough to convince entirely for tuesday’s game.
On the other end, The Givet-Rodriguez pair had their best game of the season, period. Gaël Givethad quite a remarkable match. He has had impressive efficiency in the duels. He took everything and did ldidn’t let any ball go by! What a fighting spirit. He imposed himself against Koller then agaisnt Piquionne. A big defensive performance.
Julien Rodriguez as well. Like Givet, Rodriguez was almighty in defense. He went so far as to take almost every ball headed for the giant Koller! The olympian defender has also been especially decisive in opening the score on a perfectly placed header. Like a real striker, Rodriguez followed (he was offside, mind you) Cheyrou’s powerful strike on the bar to beat Roma. It was his 3rd goal of the season!

Laurent Bonnart He confirmed that he may not be at his fittest right now. He took no risks to manage more comfortably Monegasque attacks. The only time he was noticed was when he gave a cross towards Niang in the second half. A boring game for him.

Lorik Cana Extraordinary. The Albanian was really having a great evening. After a short burn at the beginning of the match, the machine was quickly up and washed away everything in its path. Very effective in the recovery, he reigned supreme in the midfield, not hesitating to come providing valuable support offensively. He was thus rewarded with a goal, the knockout. An unstoppable head on a corner kicked by Bolo Zenden. And the Velodrome shouted his name throughout the match. Let’s hope he is this good on tuesday…
Benoit Cheyrou Finally! Cheyrou was completely liberated in the second period by the strike that brought the first goal, crashing on the bar before Rodriguez took the ball and propelled it at the back of the net. This was a click as the former Auxerrois captain was then very good in the midfield. A stark contrast from his first half. He is on the right track. The Dutch Bolo Zenden on the other end was not transcendent, but has been able to prove himself very available. On the left side, his crosses have been uneven as its corners. But the one he gave Cana was perfect. Zenden was more aggressive than usual.

Karim Ziani confirmed he was returning well after his knee injury. he was dangerous offensively by touching the pole in the first half after a good right-footer or even striking a shot in the angle of Roma’s goals just before the break. He sometimes combined with Valbuena or Niang, but also lost the ball a few times while wanting to show off a little too much. He has an ability to dribble, but still…
Mathieu Valbuena.It is a real treat to see him play! He’s proving himself to be a leader of the team, Valbuena has been impressive with his technical maestria and vivacity. He showed the team the way by always trying to move forward. He sure lacks a little poise in the last gesture. But again, what activity!
Mamadou Niang has not scored but he has weighed on the defense of Monaco. Niang has not skimped on its efforts to destabilize the Moneguasque defense. Short in his efforts in the first half, Niang was better in the second period. After the break, he had three good opportunities with a head over to a corner of a magnificent Zenden then resumed on an acrobatic center by Bonnart. He then began serving his teammates and passing the ball trying not to get hurt.

Gragnic: Returning for the last quarter in place of Ziani, Gragnic was rather quiet.
Oruma: Having returned to the place of Valbuena2 for the last six minutes, the Nigerian showed his shortcomings in missing passes or by losing the ball…
Cisse: He replaced Niang in the last nine minutes. A few whistles and encouragements came to welcome his entry. A very dangerous shot could have given him a third goal