Marseille have provisionally taken the lead in the Ligue 1 standings courtesy of their away draw at Nantes. Les Phocéens started strongly and made the most of the hosts’ defensive shortcomings. Nantes manager Pierre Aristouy’s gamble to partner new signing Eray Cömert with 17-year-old Bastien Meupiyou in defense completely backfired early on. The former Valencia man did little to prevent Vitinha from lining up a shot that eventually led to Ismaïla Sarr’s 4th-minute opener. The Nantes youth product was then given his marching orders by Ruddy Buquet for blatantly preventing a clean through on goal Sarr to try to make it two.
Having been a man and a goal down ten minutes in, Nantes had the proverbial mountain to climb against Marcelino’s side. The Spanish coach grew frustrated by Marseille’s inability to contain and punish a resurgent 10-man Nantes side. Les Canaris played like a team with nothing to lose and it showed. OM switched off before half-time and were the makers of their own demise. Nantes played a quick throw-in to Moses Simon who fed Mostafa Mohamed in the box. The brilliant Egyptian forward shrugged off Chancel Mbemba to volley in a tremendous effort in Pau López’s top corner.
As the second half started, it was still not obvious to the eye that Marseille had the advantage in numbers. The visitors had no answer to match Nantes’ intensity and failed to seriously threaten Descamps, leading Marcelino to cut an agitated figure in the touchline. Marseille eventually got the upper hand back with Nantes showing signs of tiredness after playing with a man down for one hour. However, the Spaniard only made one change against a 10-man team running on fumes.
Nantes were now under siege, with Marseille dominating proceedings. The hosts eventually held on to a hard-fought point which confirms they would be a hard team to beat when playing at home. As for Marseille, this away draw may feel like a defeat.
Nantes players ratings
Rémy Descamps, 6
Jean-Charles Castelletto, 6
Eray Cömert, 6
Bastien Meupiyou, N/A – A nightmare outing for the youth product. He made a mess of a back pass from Chirivella and received a comprehensive red card after denying Sarr a clear goalscoring opportunity only nine minutes in.
Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel, 5
Pedro Chirivella, 6
Douglas Augusto, 6
Quentin Merlin, 6
Adson, 7 – It has been reported that the Corinthians midfielder was a signing solely decided by Waldemar Kita, without consulting the club’s recruitment cell nor Aristouy. The Nantes owner might have struck gold there. The Brazilian has impressed for his first outing, displaying playmaking abilities reminiscent of Ludovic Blas’ best performances with Les Canaris. Unfortunately, he was replaced at half-time through injury.
Mostafa Mohamed, 7 – Nantes’ Egyptian scoring machine shows no sign of stopping. He restored parity with a classy acrobatic volley to score his fourth goal in as many Ligue 1 games. He also never shied away from his defensive duties. Came off to rapturous applause.
Moses Simon, 6
Marseille players ratings
Pau López, 5
Jonathan Clauss, 4
Samuel Gigot, 4
Chancel Mbemba, 4
Renan Lodi, 5
Ismaïla Sarr, 6 – The former Watford winger is quickly finding his feet with Les Phocéens. After opening his account against Brest last week, he scored again tonight with a precise half-volley after Descamps had poorly parried Vitinha’s effort. He then prompted Meupiyou to commit a red card offense. His influence dwindled as the game went on.
Jordan Veretout, 4
Valentin Rongier, 4
Joaquín Correa, 4 – The former Inter was a lively outlet going forward in the first half and even had a hand in Sarr’s opener. He completely disappeared then, showing little to no interest in defending his flank or pressing a 10-man team. Understandably the first and only Marseille man to be subbed. Quite disappointing.
Vitinha, 5
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 3 – The former Chelsea man was nowhere to be seen at La Beaujoire. He failed to strike an understanding with Vitinha and lost too many duels and balls. Lucky to escape a red card after a mistimed tackle on Adson. One can expect way more from an experienced striker against a team short of a centre-back.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
