Match Focus: Marseille and Monaco Lay Bare Both Strengths and Shortcomings

“Lots of goals, for nothing,” read the headline in Monday’s L’Equipe. A harsh summary, perhaps, of Sunday night’s thrilling final game of the Ligue 1 weekend, especially if you value entertaining football, but it was also a reminder that the passing of 12 months has made an enormous difference to the respective fortunes of Olympique de Marseille and Monaco. 

The headline certainly captured something. Given that French top-flight football is so often stereotyped as goal-shy - and not without reason - as compared to many of its European counterparts, it was unusual to feel such a sense of dissatisfaction at the end as a neutral, let alone as a supporter of either side. Yet the sense of a missed opportunity is becoming a recurrent one for both, in a match that showcased exactly why Paris Saint-Germain are running away with the league at such an early stage. 

At this point last year, Marseille were leading the Ligue 1 table, having recovered from their early November defeat in Le Classique with successive home wins over Bordeaux and Nantes. They had scored 31 Ligue 1 goals already, compared to this season’s 23. The football being practised under Marcelo Bielsa was scintillating and such was OM’s potency in front of goal that Michy Batshuayi, now their main goal threat, was yet to have the opportunity to start a match in Ligue 1. He would go on to make his full debut a few days before Christmas at home to Lille.  

Monaco had a slower start, but they were starting to find rhythm, mainly thanks to Leonardo Jardim’s defensive organisation. That was something, of course, that was absent on Sunday at the Vélodrome, but the more jarring comparison with last year to be made this week was more from a European perspective. 

On Thursday, Monaco slumped to a damaging home defeat to Anderlecht, heavily compromising their chances of progression from their Europa League group ahead of a final-day trip to Tottenham. Exactly a year before that, a Lucas Ocampos winner gave Leonardo Jardim and company an excellent win at Bayer Leverkusen, building a platform for qualification from the group and an eventual, narrow quarter-final exit to Juventus.  

In Sunday’s match, Ocampos again had a big impact, but this time for Marseille, having made a loan switch permanent in the summer - and more by luck than judgement, with his horribly mishit shot turning into the perfect pass for Georges-Kévin Nkoudou to slot in a late OM leveller. The former Nantes wide man is starting to become one of the biggest positives of Marseille’s season, having now scored in three successive matches. 

What’s even better for Marseille coach Michel is that Nkoudou is striking up an excellent partnership with Batshuayi, who created Nkoudou’s goal in the fine win at Saint Etienne last weekend. Nkoudou then returned the compliment in Thursday night’s Europa League over Groningen, laying on Batshuayi’s late winner, which left OM’s European fate in their own hands. 

Yet, if there was a sense of deflation after Sunday’s game - with captain Stève Mandanda, who admitted to being “angry,” lamenting that his side “are conceding too many avoidable goals” - then it was familiar from Thursday’s performance, even if Marseille had managed to scrape the win. It should never have been that close. They had a whopping 31 shots at goal - 12 on target for a miserable 6% conversion rate - with the visitors from the Eredivisie scoring with their one and only own effort on target.  

There may not have been a class gap on Sunday, but Marseille knew they let it slip, despite being forced to rely on Nkoudou’s late strike to glean at least some reward for their night’s work. Michel’s team controlled large parts of the game, bossing possession (61.8%) but failing to make it count at either end of the pitch. Monaco were only marginally behind in terms of shot count (10-12) and won more corners (4-3).  

Jardim’s team are set well to counter-attack and they consistently got at Marseille from wide areas. Their outstanding performers were also their goalscorers. Almamy Touré’s second goal on the night, as he strode forward into the area after a one-two with Guido Carrillo and Fábio Coentrão’s strike, nodded in from an Elderson cross after he drifted into a central area unchecked, were indicative of how unable OM were to cope with the visitors’ wide players.  

Touré’s pedigree is no secret - he has been compared to Lillian Thuram and extensively watched by Barcelona, and it is easy to see why. The 19-year-old’s goals were among five shots he had on goal during an arresting display. Coentrão, meanwhile, delivered his best display since arriving in the Principality on loan from Real Madrid. His advanced position, recalling his formative days at Benfica, certainly allowed him to exhibit his quality, bringing to mind his compatriot Raphaël Guerreiro being released from his defensive responsibilities at Lorient.  

The left-sided combination with Elderson offered less defensive security that one might hope for, though perhaps this will develop in time. Jardim, having seen his side spurn a glut of chances against Anderlecht, was simply relieved to see his side have some joy in front of goal. Monaco missed the injured Jérémy Toulalan here, with the excellent Tiemoué Bakayoko overworked in his absence, making seven tackles and five interceptions. 

Marseille’s own lack of cover on the wings certainly aided and abetted Monaco’s night of success out wide. Romain Alessandrini and Nkoudou are both willing - making three tackles and four interceptions between them - but neither are defensive-minded players. Alessandrini, who posed Monaco plenty of problems with his four efforts at goal, also left a lot of space behind himself, as he was consistently OM’s furthest player forward.  

This is a tactical conundrum that Michel needs to grapple with if he is to catapult OM above mid-table. More concerning is the lack of authority in central defence, with the pairing of Nicolas N’Koulou and Karim Rekik managing just a single tackle between them. Without the efforts of Mauricio Isla, employed in a holding role - and making six tackles - it could have been way worse. 

Frankly, the winter break can’t come soon enough for either side to rethink and regroup. Neither will trouble PSG for some time.

What did you make of Marseille's 3-3 draw with Monaco? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below