In the midst of a slump in the league, Olympique de Marseille and Renan Lodi needed a resounding victory to get back on track with good momentum, particularly in the Europa League.
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The reception of Ajax Amsterdam for the fifth day of the group stage proved to be a real test for the Phocaeans, who had experienced two consecutive unsuccessful matches in Ligue 1 (a draw and a defeat).
However, despite the difficulties encountered in the championship, OM offered a remarkable performance this Thursday evening against Ajax Amsterdam. With Lodi on the left flank of the defense, the Marseillais delivered an intense match. Reaching the score three times, even after playing in numerical superiority, the men from the Marseille city finally won a prolific match (4-3).
⏱ 90+6’ | #OMAJA 4️⃣-3️⃣
L’OM 𝘀’𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 au terme d’un match à rebondissements grâce à un triplé d’@Auba et un but de @mbemba22 ⚽️
Nos olympiens 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 leur qualification et joueront la première place du groupe à Brigthon 💪 pic.twitter.com/IItehdMtDu
— Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) November 30, 2023
With this victory, Marseille regains the lead of its group and will play a final against Brighton on the last day to find out which of the two clubs will finish as leader of their group.
A very sluggish performance for Lodi
The performance of Renan Lodi, despite being the starter for almost the entire match, was closely scrutinized by the French press which was not kind. If FootMercato gave him a rating of 4, highlighting a decent but not very flamboyant match, LePhocéen was much more severe with a rating of 3.5.
FootMercato’s analysis underlines: “ The Brazilian played a decent match without being exciting. In difficulty recently, he provided the minimum but showed defensive shortcomings which could cost his team dearly, notably on Ajax’s equalizer in the last moments (3-3, 80th). ”
For his part, LePhocéen criticizes: “ Lodi had a satisfactory first half but faltered defensively after the break. Offensively, he was not impactful. Despite a lack of defensive support from his teammates on the left flank, he needs to raise his level of play. ”
Lodi appears to have been on a downward slide for some time.
