AVB not dwelling on Rennes’ defeat, plans for Reims

After a 2-1 loss to Rennes, Olympique de Marseille manager André Villas-Boas is in no mood to dwell over it as he focuses on  Stade de Reims, which comes up next against his team in the French Ligue 1.

The clash comes up on Saturday at 18:00 GMT.

In their quest to fight for the French Ligue 1 crown, Olympique de Marseille dropped precious points in defeat to Stade Rennais FC on Wednesday.

Despite their recent loss, Marseille is still in the hunt for the title with 27 points that leave them in the 4th spot. They currently have two games in hand, and five points separate them from Lille topping the log with 32 points from 15 games.

Although they would have topped the log should they have beaten Rennes and other results went their way.

The top three teams on the table include LOSC Lille and Paris Saint-Germain, who both won their midweek games while Olympique Lyonnais drew theirs.

Marseille started the game on the front foot after gaining the lead via a strike from  21-year-old Pape Gueye in the first-half lead at Roazhon Park.

Unfortunately, Gueye, who got dismissed for a challenge on M’Baye Niang on the night, scored his first goal. The Bretons restored parity in the second half through Hamari Traoré before Adrien Hunou scored their second to give them a 2-1 win over their visitors.

After recording his first domestic defeat since the 2-0 loss to AS Saint-Étienne in mid-September, Villas-Boas is not worried given the congested schedule. He added that as soon as they play their home game, they will forget about their defeat.

Although disappointed for not staying on top of the log due to their outstanding games, the former Chelsea coach pointed out that his team missed an opportunity to defeat a direct rival.

With the absence of Morgan Sanson, Marseile’s midfield is expcetd to be populated by Valentin Rongier, Boubacar Kamara, Michaël Cuisance or Duje Caleta-Car.

They’re expected to have an advantage over Reims, who is currently in the 17th position.

 

Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed