OM vs Copenhagen: Player Ratings

Dejau vu all over again with a 3-1 win. In my last match preview I had touched upon the fact that many Marseille players and fans viewed the Danish side as a mystery. I even went as far as to compare Copenhagen to the Usual Suspects antagonist Keyser Söze. But just as how Söze is built up to be a super villain only to be revealed as a feeble balding cripple, so to did the Copenhagen side fail to live up to the hype surrounding them. All in all defeating them on a 6-2 aggregate feels great and raises team spirits for the upcoming PSG match.

So after taking a look at various articles, interviews etc. the mood for today’s game seemed to have been centered around one word DEFENSE. It goes without saying that our qualification was guaranteed barring that the football gods bestowed super human powers upon Copenhagen (they didn’t). I was expecting to see a conservative match today but how wrong I was. It was open season on the Danes and to be honest towards the end of the match I felt sorry for them, if only a little. It seemed to me that Copenhagen really had no desire to win this game and were just happy to be there. While OM fans were celebrating from the get go turning the pitch into a see off confetti it was New years Eve all over again.

On a side note, watching today’s game was a pain in the ass for me. Streams kept getting shut down and those that stayed up were continuously freezing. At the 81st minute I got a wonderful stream off the TVU program which I suggest everyone uses when given the opportunity, a real quality program. Anyway lets get into player ratings. As always if you agree/disagree with my ratings post your own in the comment section below.

Mandanda 7: Alert, quick, fearless on the pitch. Fought tooth and nail to keep his clean sheet but it eluded him at the end due to Almeida’s late goal.

Cheyrou 6.5: Solid 65 mins from the captain he made some great passes and was decent on defense. Seemed confident in a long range shot that flew way over Copenhagen’s goal.

Ben Arfa 8: Precise dribbling , had a very weak shot in the 38th minute. However he made up for it with a one touch shot to net in OM’s first goal. Later on in the game he nearly dribbled past 3 defenders in Copenhagen’s box which would have surely given him a second goal.

Bonnart 7: Interceptions left and right from Bonnart. He let no one past him constantly trapping down Copenhagen players. Got the assist with a wonderful cross to Ben Arfa that honestly could have been put in by any one of three players it was that good.

Morientes 5: Oh boy where do I begin? I had hoped to see him start and DD was within reason to do so but Fernando is no longer his old self. Slow and off pace, he had one good chance in the 53rd minute but was off target. His slip up in the 59th minute only reveals his age.

*Bakari Kone* 8.5: What a tough little SOB! Nimble throughout the entire game. He did well to skillfully dribble past the Copenhagen GK to get his first goal. When given the chance he converted a second time on a beautiful shot that saw OM go up 3-0. He also gets my vote for player of the game.

Taiwo 7.5: Great game from the Nigerian. He wasn’t afraid to come forward and held his own closing the offense down on the flanks. His through pass to Kone was one of the best passes I’ve seen this year and he even got to wear the captain arm band!

Abriel 6.5: At times he disappeared from play and at other times he was a holding presence in the midfield.

Diawara 6.5: Didn’t really have much to defend against as the Copenhagen attack was weak.

Kabore 6.5: As I’ve said before Kabore can spend lengthy spells on the bench and when called upon, sync up with the team instantly. Today was one of those days some great passes and like Abriel was a was a rock in the midfield.

Hilton 7: Great to see Hilton get a start as he played a very physical game frustrating the Copenhagen offense every change he got.

Subs:

M’bow 6: Not a great nor bad game from the young Senegalese midfielder. His passes seemed awkward and wasn’t on the same page as everyone else.

Heinze 6.5: Solid defense did what he had to do in Diawara’s absence.

Valbuena 6: Came in the game late and was given very little chances to do anything. In fact I hesitate to even give him a rating.

Copenhagen Away Jersey 2.5: Pink? Really?

So with that bring on PSG (provided they don’t come down with the flu again)…

Category: Match Review, Players, UEFA Cup