Olympique de Marseille vs Valenciennes: Player ratings

By: Richard | February 7th, 2010

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Well my voice is officially gone after today’s amazing game. I think this was the most exciting game for me personally even eclipsing the Lyon game. This weeks cup game I believe has been the turn around we needed and with the cup final on the horizon plus the Europa League, things are definitely looking up if not great! As a result of today’s excellent performance I’ve decided to post my own player ratings.

Ben Arfa: 9.5
His performance wasn’t just above average it was spectacular. He keeps playing like this and he very well could be representing Les Bleues in South Africa. Despite the fact that he did not score, he produced brilliant assists (the assist to Lucho made me fall off my couch). Now we all know Ben Arfa has the technical ability to make a defender look like an armature but all to often his tricks and fineness lead to nothing. This was not that day every trick, every ploy was executed with a skillful perfection. This is the Ben Arfa we need not the sleepy chain wearing Niang wannabe.

Cisse: 5.5
Hmm not much from Edouard today. Problem being when he wants he can completely disappear from play. On top of that Valenciennes only goal by Carlos Sanchez was due to the fact that Cisse didn’t not mark him well enough resulting in the header.

Lucho: 8
A great game from the Argentinean. Always pushing the offense forward and when it came time to put Ben Arfa’s graceful pass in the net, he did it with ease. It was only minutes later that Lucho gave Brandao the assist that would put OM two goals up securing our victory so early on.

Valbuena:8
Why oh why did we ever contemplate getting rid of him? While he has been dubbed Le Petit vélo I’m just going to call him Le Bulldog. Always fighting for possession combined with his incredible runs and oh yes he scored as well. I would have given him a higher rating if not for the atrocious tackle that resulted in him receiving a yellow card.

M’bia: 6
He did what was asked of him albeit a mistake here and there with some passes. Not really much to say about M’bia

Cheyrou: 7.5
He did a great job of being the captain today. Great kicks of the set pieces in fact he was robbed of a goal on the first free kick. He did a great job of helping both the offense and defense out and when he got the chance, strolled in took a shot and scored.

Diawara: 7.5
A defensive rock that did not let anything past him, consistently shutting down the Valenciennes offense. Diawara also did his best to act an an extra attacker pushing forward everyone as he made amazing runs towards the opponents goal ultimately assisting Niang in a wonderful shot.

Brandao: 8
How can I be angry at him anymore? Not so long ago I’m pleading for Deschamps to ditch him in favor of Morientes, now you can consider me a fan of Brandao. Has anyone ever watched one of those National Geographic specials where a lion is stalking his prey? Well that was Brandao today constantly pushing forward looking for the opportunity to strike and when Lucho gave him the opportunity he did not waste it.

Bonnart 6.5
Back in his natural position today Bonnart did not have to struggle like he did against Montpellier. Going forward from time to time he rarely made any mistakes closing Valenciennes down on the flanks.

Taiwo: 5.5
Back from the cup of nations but not his best game. His only memorable input on today’s game was a blast of a shot that soared way above Valenciennes goal into the rafters.

Andrade:7
The fans have certainly warmed up to the former Rapid Bucharest GK and so have I. While he conceded a goal today, the replay will clearly show that the ball barely eluded his grasp and he should have had a clean sheet. Regardless he has proved to be a solid backup to Mandanda.

Subs
Abriel: n/a
came in late to warrant a rating

Niang: 8
What more could you ask for from Niang? Coming off the bench and scoring that final goal was amazing. Even better was the fact that the assist came off from his childhood friend Diawara. In case you don’t know the two grew up together in Le Harve which makes the goal even more special. Besides the childhood nostalgia, the little time he playing he certainly made the most of it.

Hilton 7
Again this was not a day where OM defenders had to work hard but Hilton did what was needed. Not squandering any opportunities he gave an all round average defensive performance.

Player of the game: Ben Arfa

Closing thoughts: While it may seem that I’m being a bit harsh on the rating for our defenders keep in mind they themselves had very little possession of the ball. This game was pure offense and it reflected in our 60/40 possession. I’m interested in hearing the rating you guys would have given to the players if you feel that I’ve overrated someone or underrated someone say so in the comments.