Marseille stumbled to a 2-2 draw Vs Angers yesterday, missing the chance to go back to the top of the Ligue 1 table after PSG also drew against Lorient earlier in the day.
Roberto De Zerbi switched back to a back 4 and made 4 changes from the 2-1 loss to Lens with Angel Gomes, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, CJ Egan Riley and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg replacing Timothy Weah, Matt O’Riley, Robinio Vaz and Benjamin Pavard.
Angers Coach Alejandre Dujeux also made changes from their 2-0 win over Lorient, Florent Hanin, Amine Sbai and Prosper Peter were replaced by Lilian Raolisoa, Sidiki Cherif and Jacques Ekomie.
From the first minute, the fixture between Olympique de Marseille and Angers SCO was immediately punctuated by Angers’ intent to disrupt the home side’s rhythm, earning the match’s first moment of disciplinary action as Lilian Raolisoa was booked for a foul in the 3rd minute. Though the early stages saw Angers produce a notable sight of goal, a wayward header from Sidiki Cherif in the 12th minute, assisted by Raolisoa, which soared just over the crossbar, Marseille soon began to assert their expected attacking pressure.
The home team’s first serious threats arrived shortly after the quarter-hour mark. In the 19th minute, Angel Gomes tested the Angers defence, unleashing a right-footed shot from outside the box that was parried low to the bottom right by goalkeeper Hervé Koffi. Just four minutes later, Marseille demonstrated their attacking coordination when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang set up Igor Paixão, whose shot from the left side of the box was well saved by Koffi in the centre of the goal. These consecutive saved attempts painted a picture of building pressure, yet Angers’ stubborn defence, and Koffi’s performance, kept the scores level.
The first goal of the match came in the 25th minute, entirely against the run of play as Angers executed a devastating fast break, culminating in Sidiki Cherif finding space in the centre of the box. His right-footed shot found the bottom right corner of the net, handing the visitors a shock 0-1 lead.
Marseille reacted to the goal by winning a corner in the 28th minute, conceded by Angers defender Ousmane Camara, though it led to no immediate danger. Angers, buoyed by the lead, immediately demonstrated they were not content to sit back; Cherif followed up his goal by taking a powerful left-footed shot from distance in the 29th minute, forcing Marseille’s goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli into a top-centre save.
As the first half continued, Marseille laid siege to the Angers backline, but attempts from Paixão in the 39th minute that was blocked defined a half of frustration for the hosts. The whistle blew for half-time with Angers holding a hard-earned 0-1 advantage.
The reaction from the Marseille bench was swift and decisive. De Zerbi made a triple substitution at the start of the second half, clearly signaling a tactical overhaul aimed at injecting urgency and offensive creativity. Amir Murillo, Arthur Vermeeren, and Angel Gomes were all withdrawn, replaced by Robinio Vaz, Matt O’Riley, and Benjamin Pavard.
The impact of this gamble was almost immediate as Marseille equalized through the fresh legs of Robinio Vaz in the 52nd minute. The substitute converted a right-footed shot from the centre of the box, slotting it high into the net after being assisted by the veteran Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Orange Vélodrome felt the shift in momentum, only to see Angers demonstrate their resilience three minutes later when Louis Mouton’s shot was saved by Rulli.
Angers responded with tactical changes of their own just before the hour mark, making a double substitution that saw goalscorer Sidiki Cherif and Lilian Raolisoa replaced by Amine Sbaï and Lanroy Machine in the 59th minute.
Despite these defensive adjustments, Marseille remained on the attack. Mason Greenwood saw his right-footed shot saved in the 64th minute by the impressive Koffi, who was kept busy throughout.
The pivotal moment of Marseille’s comeback arrived in the 70th minute. Once again, it was Robinio Vaz, the substitute, who found the net, scoring his brace with a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner, this time assisted by Emerson. Marseille had completed the turnaround, leading 2-1, and immediately pushed to seal the match. Greenwood missed a wayward left-footed shot just two minutes later and Aubameyang followed suit with a near miss in the 78th minute, a right-footed shot that narrowly missed the top right corner. These missed opportunities would prove fatal.
With the hosts holding a precarious one-goal lead, the final phase of the match dissolved into chaos, underlined by the announcement of 10 minutes of added time in the 90th minute. Angers, sensing a chance, piled on the pressure. They won a corner in the 90th+5 minute, followed by a blocked shot from Jordan Lefort. A further blocked shot from Amine Sbaï in the 90th+6 minute immediately resulted in another corner.
In the ensuing scramble from the corner in the 90th+6 minute, Angers found the crucial, dramatic equalizer. Malian defender Ousmane Camara struck a right-footed shot from the centre of the box, finding the back of the net to level the score at 2-2. The goal triggered an immediate disciplinary reaction from the frustrated Marseille players, with Pierre-Emile Højbjerg receiving a yellow card for argument/dissent. The home side’s collapse was compounded in the 90th+8 minute when Nayef Aguerd received a yellow card for a bad foul.
The final whistle blew in the 90th+11 minute, sealing a devastating result for Marseille, who squandered two points after brilliantly recovering from a first-half deficit, only to concede the draw deep into an extended period of stoppage time.
