Two days after taking up his post, Jorge Sampaoli made his debut on the OM bench by welcoming Rennes for a late match of the 22nd day of Ligue 1. To his delight, the Olympians snatched the victory (1 -0) thanks to Mickael Cuisance at the very end of the meeting.
A result which naturally satisfies the new OM coach, especially in view of the state in which he has recovered the team.
Eliminated on Sunday in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France against Canet-en-Roussillon (N2), the Phocéens no longer manage to get out of this downward spiral.
But now, the arrival of Sampaoli could have the effect of an electric shock for this group.
"There has been a great support for these changes," he whispered at a press conference.
A positive result which allows the Olympians to continue to dream of qualifying for the Europa League.
They thus come back to two lengths of Lens, 5th.
“This victory is a step forward, to have seen this joy is a relief,” Sampaoli added on Wednesday.
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With Sampaoli, it's straight to the point
Be careful, there is no question of getting carried away for Sampaoli.
“There is still a lot to improve”.
This is enough to show his players what to expect.
If they "made more videos than field", according to the words of the new coach, they lacked "game inside".
During the first half of this victory, Sampaoli was able to display his playing ambitions for OM.
“The basic idea is to attack with six and defend with four,” he commented after the victory.
But beware, if OM were ambitious in the first half, the Phocéens eased off in the second, to the point of undergoing the onslaught of Rennes.
“The main thing that I corrected, a kind of offensive passivity.
We will work to recover higher.
The message of the day was that we had to attack ”.
The club's followers know what to expect even if the physical aspect poses a question to the new coach: "Saturday we will have a match and we will use our resources so that fatigue does not impact our game", moderated Sampaoli .
This Saturday (5 p.m.), it is the Stade Brestois which comes to challenge OM on behalf of the 29th day of Ligue 1. It remains to be seen whether Sampaoli and his gang will manage to display more control than in this last victory.
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