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Played
January 15, 2012 3:00 PM EST
Stade Vélodrome — Marseille
Referee:‬ R. Buquet‎
Attendance:‬ 41279‎
 
62′ Loïc Remy
 
83′ Loïc Remy
 
Top of the Match
?
To Be Announced Shortly
Loïc Remy
Loïc Remy
Marseille
Flop of the Match
?
To Be Announced Shortly
Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard
Lille

Olympique de Marseille 2-0 Lille: Loic Remy nets deadly double

A brace from OM's leading striker means that the club closed in on Ligue 1's top three spots, while LOSC has lost further ground on league leader Paris Saint-Germain.

By Robin Bairner

Ligue 1 : Loic Remy (Olympique de Marseille)
Panoramic
Olympique de Marseille did its hopes of Champions League qualification a great service as it defeated Ligue 1 champion Lille 2-0 at Stade Velodrome.

The first half was goalless, but Loic Remy opened the scoring in favor of the home side early in the second period with a precise header into the corner of the net after Mathieu Valbuena had brilliantly wriggled into space to clip a cross into the former Nice player. A loose ball late on was pounced on by the striker, who grabbed his second with a composed finish to kill off the game.

After a forceful showing from the visiting side in the early stages, Marseille started to dominate the middle of the field and sustained significant pressure on the visiting defense for much of the first period.

Against a Lille defense decimated by selection problems, OM picked a number of holes in its guest. Morgan Amalfitano was the first to make headway, twice cutting dangerous balls back to Lucho Gonzalez, though on both occasions the Argentine’s touch let him down.

Inevitably, Remy would also worry the champion, with his best supply line typically Mathieu Valbuena. A deft lofted pass from the winger released the striker, though his finish was not accurate enough and was blocked by Mickael Landreau. The striker was unlucky midway through the finish when an instinctive volley was blocked on the line more by luck than judgement by Aurelien Chedjou.

Perhaps OM’s best openings would fall to holding midfielder Benoit Cheyrou, who sent a good early chance high but stung the palms of Landreau with a fierce shot just before the break and then couldn’t squeeze the follow up into the goal as Mathieu Valbuena recycled possession.

Lille’s first half threat was very limited indeed, but seconds after the break Ireneusz Jelen nearly found the net, sending a great opening into the arms of the previously unemployed Steve Mandanda.

Marseille responded with a brace of Valbuena efforts that were scooped up by Landreau, regaining its dominance before Remy opened the scoring with a well placed header.

Almost immediately, play opened up. A solo run from Hazard took him by Stephane Mbia, but his finish was too weak to seriously trouble Mandanda, and the youngster couldn’t quite get the ball under his control when handily placed soon afterwards.

OM was a serious threat on the break as Lille pushed more players forward, and with less than 10 minutes remaining a slack pass from Idrissa Gueye was jumped on by Remy. Landreau had rushed from his goal to try and snuff out the danger, and he was easily rounded by the striker, who rolled the ball into the net from 20 yards out to finish the game.

Now only two points behind LOSC in the Ligue 1 standings, Marseille has its eyes firmly fixed on a podium place that would equate to Champions League football, while the defending champion now finds itself seven points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain, which is increasingly the favorite to pick up the Championnat crown.

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Marseille

30
Steve Mandanda
Goalkeeper
3.0
2
3.0
-
N. N'Koulou
Defender
3.0
15
Jérémy Morel
Defender
27′
3.0
4
Alou Diarra
Midfielder
81′
3.0
7
Benoît Cheyrou
Midfielder
48′
3.0
8
Lucho González
Midfielder
85′
2.5
17
Stéphane M'Bia
Defender
3.0
19
Morgan Amalfitano
Midfielder
3.0
28
Mathieu Valbuena
Midfielder
62′ 72′
3.0
11
Loïc Remy
Striker
62′ 83′ 91′
3.5

Lille

3.0
1
Mickaël Landreau
Goalkeeper
2.5
6
2.5
14
David Rozehnal
Defender
2.5
21
Laurent Bonnart
Defender
76′
2.0
22
2.5
4
Florent Balmont
Midfielder
3.0
10
Eden Hazard
Midfielder
2.5
17
Benoit Pedretti
Midfielder
72′
3.0
24
Rio Antonio Mavuba
Midfielder
2.5
26
Joe Cole
Midfielder
2.0
27

Substitutes

1
-
13
Djimi Traore
Defender
91′
-
24
Rod Fanni
Defender
85′
-
26
-
25
Billel Omrani
Striker
-
29
Chris Gadi
Striker
-
9
Brandao
Striker
48′
-

Substitutes

-
1
Vincent Enyeama
Goalkeeper
-
3
Lucas Digne
Defender
-
5
Idrissa Gueye
Midfielder
76′
-
13
Adama Soumaoro
Defender
-
7
Dimitri Payet
Striker
72′
-
19
Gianni Bruno
Striker
87′
-
20

Coach/Manager

-
-

Coach/Manager

-
-
 
  • Goal
  • Own Goal
  • Penalty
  • Penalty Missed
  • Yellow Card
  • Assist
  • Penalty Save
  • Penalty Shootout Goal
  • Penalty Shootout Miss
  • Yellow Card / Red Card
  • Red Card
  • Substitution IN
  • Substitution OUT
  • Injury
  • Goal.com Rating
  • Goal.com Man of the Match
  • Goal.com Flop of the Match
  • Top & Flop Global Ranking
  • Fans' Man of the Match
  • Fans' Flop of the Match
Results
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Nenê Nenê
Midfielder
Paris St. Germain (PSG)
21 9
Olivier Giroud Olivier Giroud
Striker
Montpellier Herault SC
21 2
Eden Hazard Eden Hazard
Midfielder
Lille OSC
20 9
Licha López Licha López
Striker
Olympique Lyonnais
16 4
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Striker
AS Saint-Etienne
16 0