Éric Gerets: Lyon Now Respect Marseille

Going into the weekend fixtures, all eyes were firmly fixed on the Sunday clash between Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique de Marseille at the Stade Gerland. An exciting game was promised, though, the match contrived only to disappoint as the two sides fought out a tense scoreless affair.

“If I had been able to focus on the match as a spectacle, of course I would have preferred a 3-3 draw,” les Phocéens’ head coach, Éric Gerets told l’Equipe after the match. “It was not the Lyon that we expected. That means that they respect my team. Now, if you think I should have launched the cavalry forward, you are wrong. That is exactly what they wanted me to do.”

For long periods of the match, Marseille dominated possession but struggled to create goal scoring chances. Gerets is not particularly disheartened by this state of affairs as he is aware his side largely had matters under control.

“Tactically, we were very much in place,” he explained. “If we had been a little cooler we could have made the difference but we missed a final pass to hurt them. In the second period we played despite tiring. I think this point was largely deserved.

“Even in the second half, I think my side performed better than Bayern [Munich, who won 3-2 in Lyon on Wednesday but spent the second half under intense pressure]. The fact that my side were able to produce a good performance against Lyon shows that we are doing well.”

With just one game remaining before the Christmas break, Marseille will probably have to accept being second over the festive period, however, Gerets will be delighted to be celebrating the New Year with Lyon in touching distance.

Robin Bairner, Goal.com