UEFA Champions League match analysis: http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-de-Marseille-c40127 Vs Borussia Dortmund
An ailing Ligue 1 Olympique de Marseille side put their Ligue 1 woes behind to record a fantastic 3-0 victory over reigning German Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund in a Champions League group game at the Stade Velodrome on September 28, 2011.
Ahead of the game, all the pressure was on the Marseille side to deliver a good result after the Phoceens made a terrible start to the 2011/2012 campaign. Les Phoceens had won just two games in the season ahead of the game against the Borussians.
The night turned out to be a perfect one for Didier Deschamps and his charges. In the 20th minute, Andre Ayew opened the scoring with a beautiful goal from twenty yards out with his left foot. This was the 21-year-old’s first Champions League
goal.
However, the goal did not affect Borussia Dortmund who put pressure on the Marseille defence thorugh Mario Gotze and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Steve-Mandanda-c34177 to thank for. The Frenchman made some truly spectacular saves to keep the home
side’s lead intact.
In the second half, Marseille started asserting their authority on the field. A long ball from Marseille’s half towards the direction of Loic Remy was met by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mats-Hummels-c24767. However, the German international’s weak header gave Loic Remy a chance.
The French striker controlled the ball with his chest before hitting a powerful drive with his right foot past http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Neven-Subotic-c27632 then brought Remy down in the penalty
box and the referee had no option but to point at the spot.
Andre Ayew stepped up to take the responsibility and his powerful shot went in the goal while Weidenfeller dived to the other side. Andre Ayew scored his first Champions League brace in the process and gave Marseille a 3-0 lead in the 68th minute.
Though the margin of the victory suggests that Marseille were the better team on the night, a closer look indicates a few shortcomings of Deschamps’ men. The defence was to be blamed for giving the ball away too cheaply frequently while Lucho Gonzalez and
Alou Diarra’s participation was non-existent to say the least.
Marseille verdict
Nicolas N’Koulou was definitely out of sorts throughout the game and has to thank http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Souleymane-Diawara-c33850 for being so solid at the back. Apart from the brilliance of Remy, Valbuena and Ayew, Les Phoceens never really looked like a team that could be a dominant
force in both the Champions League and the Ligue 1.
Borussia Dortmund were also unlucky for not getting a goal. However, if the central midfield pairing of Gonzalez and Diarra doesn’t c***k, Les Phoceens will be facing problems throughout the season and will be put to the sword on a regular basis.
Didier Deschamps’ main concern should be of strengthening the central midfield that has been highly ineffective for a long time.
Borussia Dortmund verdict
Neven Subotic and Mats Hummels are still one of the best defensive pairings in Europe and the duo should be able to let go of what happened at Stade Velodrome. On that night, both Subotic and Hummels looked far from the players who guided Dortmund to a Bundesliga
crown.
Gotze on the other hand, is seriously missing the presence of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sven-Bender-c34386 must rise up to the occasion to help Dortmund find a way out of a tricky situation.
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