Caught at the end of the Europa League play-off match by Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday evening, Olympique de Marseille hoped to achieve its first victory against a professional club in Brest in 2024, having only one success against Thionville in the Cup. of France to his credit since the start of the calendar year.
For this, Gennaro Gattuso composed a somewhat revised eleven.
Scorer in Hamburg, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang started the match on the bench, leaving rookie Faris Moumbagna in the middle.
In the cages, Ruben Blanco replaced his compatriot Pau Lopez, injured in the calf.
But one player has particularly aroused curiosity in his right-back position: Jonathan Clauss.
Ahead of the match, the French international was scratched twice in the media by Mehdi Benatia, the sports advisor of the Marseille club.
When Benatia pays herself Clauss
First in an interview with his friend Samir Nasri on Canal +, then before the kick-off at Prime Video, the former central defender explained that Clauss has been taken aback by the Marseille staff in recent weeks.
“We especially noted behavioral problems with the coach.
He has been received several times in the offices, he knows why.
We expect a lot in terms of rigor and discipline.
The state of mind and group cohesion will always come before each player,” said Benatia to the main broadcaster of the championship.
🗨️ "I was warned about 2-3 players whose behavior was a little borderline. Jonathan was one of them"
Medhi Benatia tells what happened with Jonathan Clauss during the last transfer window 🗣️ pic.twitter. com/JqBITof3FY
— CANAL+ Foot (@CanalplusFoot) February 18, 2024
Earlier, on Canal +, he remained very evasive about Clauss' future in Marseille.
“If the player has desires elsewhere, we listen to them.
But there was no offer (this winter, editor’s note).
OK, he's playing.
No worries, we'll see what happens at the end of the season.
» Not enough to start the match against Brest with the greatest serenity.
Fortunately for OM, Blanco is there to save the troops, whether against Mounié or Pereira Lage in the first half, when his defenders fail him.
Static, Marseille gets punished
A first act marked by the action of the very restless Pierre Lees-Melou who intervenes in his area to try to steal the ball from Iliman Ndiaye by touching the Marseillais in the 16th minute.
At the moment, Ruddy Buquet did not whistle a penalty and was not called by the VAR either.
A new controversy around the refereeing body this weekend after those in Lyon or Reims.
Gennaro Gattuso didn't need that, he who was angry after returning from the locker room.
At the hour mark, the exclusion of Steve Mounié could have given some solace to the hearts of the Phocaeans.
But Brest continued to be dangerous while OM failed to find the fault, only scoring their first strike in the 87th minute.
In the action that followed, Pierre Lees-Melou won the victory at Brest, taking advantage of the passivity of the Marseillais.
After this defeat, OM are in ninth place, far from Brest, second.