Nantes come from behind twice to sink OM

FC Nantes  3 – 2  Olympique de Marseille

THE MATCH

Marseille were in need of a lift after recent results but coach Rudi Garcia raised eyebrows with his team selection as he chose to drop Dimitri Payet to the bench. Morgan Sanson was one of those brought back into the team and the midfielder gave OM the lead just before the half-hour mark, running onto a Lucas Ocampos cutback to lash a first-time effort past Maxime Dupé, who was standing in for the injured Ciprian Tătăruşanu in the Nantes goal (28′).

The reply from the home side was immediate, however. Touré did well to win back possession on the right before delivering an inviting cross for Emiliano Sala – who else? – to head home (30′). It was a 12th Ligue 1 Conforama goal of the season for the in-form Argentine.

After an opening to the match that was high in intensity but lacking in real excitement in either penalty box, the action was now going from end to end. Marseille were given the chance to take the lead for a second time when Nicolas Pallois handled a cross that had been nodded on by Valère Germain. Florian Thauvin stepped up to send Dupé the wrong way from the resulting penalty (36′).

Sala returns favour

However, Marseille’s defence has been their achilles heel this season and they caved in as the hosts turned up the pressure again in the final moments before half-time. Boschilia’s free-kick delivery from the right came off the bar before Sala, surrounded by OM defenders, brought down a Pallois up-and-under in the box and laid the ball back for Touré to curl home from 20 yards.

Nantes then went on to take the lead in the 63rd minute when Lima got away from Bouna Sarr on the left and sent in an inviting low ball to the back post for Boschilia to turn it in (63′). Marseille then turned up the pressure after that as the rain fell more and more heavily, but even the introduction of Payet from the bench could not swing the game back their way.

Luiz Gustavo turned the ball against the post after Dupé came for and missed a Payet corner in the 76th minute, but OM missed the chance to go level on points with third-placed Montpellier Hérault SC after what was already their 10th defeat of the season in all competitions. Nantes are back on track after a three-game winless sequence.

THE PLAYER: Emiliano Sala

There were several outstanding performances from the home side, with Diego Carlos a rock at the back and Touré excellent in midfield, but Sala’s contribution was vital once again. He scored one and set up another in the first half. The Argentine now has 12 league goals this season, matching his total tally for each of the last two campaigns.

THE STAT: 25

The number of Ligue 1 Conforama goals Florian Thauvin has now scored in the calendar year, but also the number of goals OM have conceded this season, more than any other team in the top half.

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