The Phocians must prevail at the Bollaert-Delelis to keep the chase against PSG alive with five rounds remaining in the season.
Olympic Marseille travels to the Bollaert-Delelis Stadium for a clash against Lens on Saturday, one of the standout fixtures on the thirty-fourth match day of Ligue 1.
Led by Igor Tudor, the Marseille side arrives at this pivotal encounter following a victory over Auxerre and has now extended its unbeaten run to eight consecutive matches. The win preserves a second place finish that secures a direct path to the UEFA Champions League for next season.
At the Orange Vélodrome Alexis Sanchez was instrumental in the comeback, scoring a decisive goal in the final stretch after Bergoña managed to pierce the hosts’ clean sheet with Birama Toure’s early strike. With this win, their third in a row, the Minots closed the gap to five points with Paris Saint Germain, reigniting a title race that might have seemed settled with Lionel Messi and company still in the chase. The clock shows five games left in the French top flight.
“It feels great to win and bounce back in a packed stadium. We are now very close to the frontrunner, and we believe we can still become champions,” the Chilean said during the interview with the home supporters in the l Abbe-Deschamps arena. He added that being five points behind PSG is a strong personal motivation, expressing his belief that a title could be within reach. “We have to stay excited, we have a solid squad,” he stated. “It was crucial to get this win before facing a direct rival. We are focused and the priority was to secure the match and make our supporters happy.” The forward who has already tallied 13 goals in 30 Ligue 1 appearances for Marseille stands firm in his belief that the club can rise to the occasion.
On the other side, Franck Haise’s Lens sit in third after a narrow win against Toulouse courtesy of Loïs Openda. This result nudges the defending champions of the Ligue 1 title closer to OM in the race for second, tightening the gap in the standings.
The head-to-head record between the two teams features a long history, with Lens and Marseille having faced each other 97 times in league play. Phocian victories number 39, with 155 goals scored by Lens and 159 by Marseille. There have been 21 draws. The latest meeting occurred on October 22, when Lens emerged victorious with a single goal by David Costa. Marseille had previously won 0-2 away, thanks to a Dimitri Payet penalty and a finishing strike by Cédric Bakambu.
Alexis’ contributions to Les Phocéens – all goals by the Marseille star
RC Lens:
Brice Samba; Jonathan Gradit, Kevin Danso, Facundo Medina; Przemyslaw Frankowski, Jean Onana, Seko Fofana, Deiver Machado; Florian Sotoca, Adrien Thomasson; Lois Openda. DT Frank Haise.
Olympique Marseille:
Paul Lopez; Chancel Mbemba, Samuel Gigot, Sead Kolasinac; Issa Kaboré, Valentin Rongier, Jordan Veretout, Jonathan Clauss; Cengiz Under, Alexis Sanchez; Vitinha. DT Igor Tudor.
Source: Goal