OM’s next opponents will say more about the level of a team revived by Jean-Louis Gasset in spectacular fashion.
Who can reasonably assert that there is no Jean-Louis Gasset effect at OM? A month after being removed from his post as coach of the Ivory Coast and in place for two weeks on the Marseille bench, the septuagenarian coach has just given a serious boost to a team made gray by wanderings and incompetence of Gennaro Gattuso, his predecessor.
Jean-Louis Gasset has three matches in his Olympian record for as many victories with notable offensive efficiency. The teammates of Chancel Mbemba, new captain in the absence of Samuel Gigot and Valentin Rongier, both injured, scored 12 goals, against Shakhtar Donetsk (3-1 – Europa League return play-off), Montpellier (4-1 – 23rd day of League 1) then at Clermont Saturday evening (1-5 – 24th day).
Villarreal, Rennes, PSG
The new Olympian coach, faithful and valuable right-hand man of Laurent Blanc notably at Paris Saint-Germain when the latter practiced a well-oiled collective (2013-2016), now knows that the hardest part is perhaps coming with much more future opponents consistent on paper. Thursday evening, during the round of 16 first leg of the Europa League, OM will find out more about their ability to stand up to a Spanish team from Villarreal coached by… Marcelino, the first Olympian coach of the season.
Stade Rennais and PSG will also appear on the road to Marseillais by the end of March. After that, and seven days before the end of the Championship, OM will perhaps find themselves in a position to seriously believe in the objective set at the start of the season: a place in the Top 4 to participate in the new Champions League formula.
