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Tag: Olympique Marseille

  • On-form Nigerian striker, Moffi overtakes Neymar, chases Mbappe

    On-form Nigerian striker, Moffi overtakes Neymar, chases Mbappe

    On-form Nigerian forward Terem Moffi, has scored his 12th goal of the season for his Ligue 1 side Lorient FC, although they lost 3-1 away to Olympique Marseille.

    Moffi has overtaken Brazilian forward Neymar to climb to number two on the scorer’s chart just a goal adrift of number one position Kyllian Mbappe in the French Ligue 1.

    Moffi has scored four times in his last six days for Lorient FC.

    The highly sought-after striker opened scoring an emphatic fashion from a corner in the 28th minute but the host fought back with strikes from

    However, Marseille fought back and were level in the 38th minute when Cengiz Under crossed from the right for Sead Kolasinac – filling in for the suspended Nuno Tavares – to head in his third goal of the campaign. Further goals from Alexis Sánchez and Jordan Veretout secured victory for Marseille.

    Two English top sides Southampton and West Ham have been tracking the Nigerian goal poacher with the Hammers tabling a whooping £25 million before Lorient FC for his signature.

    It remains to be seen whether Moffi will make the move this January transfer window or not.

     

  • With Marseille I never think about Arsenal return – Saliba

    With Marseille I never think about Arsenal return – Saliba

    Olympique Marseille defender William Saliba has again cast doubt on a return to parent club Arsenal.

    Saliba is on a straight season-long loan with OM.

    He said, “In a club like this, as you’re on loan, you pretend you’re going to stay for many years. You say to yourself: don’t think you’re going back to Arsenal this summer, enjoy every game.

    “I try not to think too much about what will happen next, I try to be focused on the present, because that is the most important. And what will happen after… No one knows.

    “The fact that (Mikel) Arteta said I had my place at Arsenal? Yes, for sure it’s nice. But I remain focused on what I do and on my club which is currently OM. There you go.”

  • I owe Marseille after Lazio error – Arsenal defender

    I owe Marseille after Lazio error – Arsenal defender

    Arsenal defender William Saliba admits he owes loan club Olympique Marseille a performance tonight.

    OM meet Galatasaray in the Europa League and Saliba is eager to make up for his last match in the competition.

    He said, “I know that it is because of me that we drew against Lazio.

    “I slept very, very badly afterwards and I don’t want it to happen again. I am young, I risk making more mistakes, but I will try to make it happen as little as possible.

    “It is certain that tomorrow I am keen to redeem myself and help my team to win this match.”

  • Ligue 1 opening match postponed after Marseille report four COVID-19 cases

    Ligue 1 opening match postponed after Marseille report four COVID-19 cases

    Ligue 1’s opening match of the new season has been postponed from Friday night, French professional football’s governing body, the LFP, said on Tuesday.

    The development arose after Olympique de Marseille said they had confirmed four cases of COVID-19.

    “In view of medical results passed on by Olympique Marseille (…) the LFP has decided to postpone the Olympique de Marseille/AS Saint-Etienne game to Sept. 16 or Sept. 17,” the LFP said in statement.

    The game was the only fixture set for Friday, with the rest of Ligue 1’s first round of 2020/2021 matches spread out over Saturday and Sunday.

    The LFP told clubs last week it had set up a “COVID committee” to advise on whether to postpone matches.

    When a club reports more than three coronavirus cases, postponement is likely, based on the “COVID protocol” the LFP sent out to the clubs.

    Among the “Big Five” European football nations, France was the only one to end its season prematurely due to the pandemic.

    Paris St-Germain (PSG) were awarded the Ligue 1 title.

    The Parisian club and Olympique Lyonnais have reached the semi-finals of the reformatted UEFA Champions League, the first time that two French teams will compete at that level.

    Olympique Marseille is France’s only winner of the biggest prize in European football.

    Almost 40 players from 11 Ligue 1 clubs out of 20 have tested positive for COVID-19, including some at Saint-Etienne.

    Spain’s Mediapro agreed in early June with TF1, France’s biggest private TV operator, to form a new channel to air top Ligue 1 league matches in the country.

    Mediapro holds the rights to air top Ligue 1 matches for the 2020/2021 to 2023/2024 seasons.

  • Give me means to perform or I’ll leave, Villas-Boas threatens Marseille

    Give me means to perform or I’ll leave, Villas-Boas threatens Marseille

    Olympique de Marseille coach Andre Villas-Boas says he will not stay at the club if he is not given the means to make them competitive in the UEFA Champions League.

    Marseille claimed a Champions League spot for the first time in seven years when they finished second in Ligue 1 in the prematurely-ended 2019/2020 season.

    The season was ended with 10 games left, amid the COVID-19 crisis.

    But that is not enough for the Portuguese, whose contract expires at the end of the 2020/2021 season.

    “I don’t want to just make up the numbers in the Champions League. If we’re just here to make up the numbers, it’s obviously no (to stay at the club),” he said.

    Villas-Boas said he wanted to stay but that important structural conditions had to be met.

    “The most important is whether the people who are with me, (sports director) Andoni (Zubizarreta) and (scouting director) Albert (Valentin) still have power or no.

    “We must have, and we want to have, the power to execute decisions.

    “I feel good in Marseille. When my agent calls me with Premier League proposals, I don’t want to go back. I am happy here. But if the conditions for us to do a proper job are not met, it’s not worth it.”

    Keeping hold of key players was another crucial factor, he added.

    “I want to know where we’re going, what we can do, how much we can invest,” he said.

    “We don’t have a big squad. We must think about the players whose contracts expire in 2021,” he added, referring to goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, midfielders Florian Thauvin and Maxime Lopez, defender Jordan Amavi and forward Valere Germain.

    Marseille fell foul of UEFA’s financial fair-play rules last year and in March the club was at risk of sanctions after failing to comply with a settlement.

  • Ex-Marseille chief Diouf dies after contracting coronavirus

    Ex-Marseille chief Diouf dies after contracting coronavirus

    Former Marseille president Pape Diouf has died aged 68 after contracting coronavirus, the club have announced.

    The Senegalese was president between 2005 and 2009 when Marseille finished second in Ligue 1 twice and reached two French Cup finals.

    They went on to win a first French league title in 18 years in 2010.

    “Pape will remain in the hearts of the Marseillais forever, as one of the great architects in the club’s history,” Marseille posted on Twitter.

    The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) said: “Journalist, agent, president of Olympique de Marseille, Pape Diouf dedicated his whole life in service of football.

    “A member of the LFP administrative council from September 2007 to June 2009, Pape Diouf will be remembered as a charismatic and passionate director.”

    Former France and Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse played for Marseille when Diouf was in charge.

    “Today French football has lost a great man,” he posted on social media. “My sadness is great today. Rest in peace.”

    Manchester City’s French defender Benjamin Mendy described his “sadness” at hearing the news.

    “A great president but above all a huge man, who always worthily represented Marseille and its values. A great loss for French football and the African continent. Rest in peace,” he tweeted.

  • Ligue 1: Marseille break into top four as Monaco edge Rennes

    Ligue 1: Marseille break into top four as Monaco edge Rennes

    Olympique Marseille broke into the Ligue 1 top four after goals from Boubacar Kamara and Kevin Strootman gave them a 2-0 home win over struggling Strasbourg on Sunday.

    In the day’s early fixtures, Monaco eased their relegation woes with a last-gasp 3-2 defeat of Rennes while Girondins Bordeaux suffered a 1-0 setback against visiting St Etienne.

    Kamara netted a third minute opener for 1993 European Cup champions Marseille, blasting a deflected shot past goalkeeper Matz Sels.

    This came after Strasbourg failed to clear a low free-kick driven into the area from the left.

    The home side then missed several chances as Croatian defender Duje Caleta-Car and Serbia winger Nemanja Radonjic hit the woodwork while Argentine Dario Benedetto scuffed a close-range shot wide.

    Dutch midfielder Strootman sealed the win with a stoppage-time penalty kick after Benedetto was brought down by a visiting defender.

    The result left Marseille fourth on 16 points from 10 games while Strasbourg stayed bottom on nine points.

    Wissam Ben Yedder scored a 90th minute winner for Monaco to cap a memorable evening.

    That was after he had given his side an early lead in a rollercoaster, as the visitors hit back through Faitout Maouassa and Adrien Hunou.

    Algeria striker Islam Slimani, on loan at Monaco from Leicester City, levelled in the 56th minute.

    Ben Yedder then delighted the home fans as the principality side moved up to 14th place, two points clear of the bottom three.

    A 90th minute penalty kick from Denis Bouanga gave St Etienne a surprise win at sixth-placed Bordeaux and allowed the visitors to move up to 10th place.