Matchday 17 - Djibril is back, Paris isn’t

By: Sam | December 10th, 2006

Saturday was a big night at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, for many reasons. The home leg against Monaco has long been a feisty tradition in the south of France, Marseille was hoping for a much-needed win to get back on the winning track, and Monaco wanted three points to stay on the winning track. What’s more, OM’s injured-no-more, blonde-one-day-brunette-the-next colossal messiah Djibril Cissé came back from an agonizing absence due to his broken leg suffered in a friendly match against China in June.

In a festive and giddy sold-out stadium, OM got a great offensive start, not scoring, but getting many opportunities, and getting momentum. On 37 minutes, second-leading scorer Mickaël Pagis opened the scoring on a perfectly placed header, leaving no chance for the Italian keeper Roma. A quarter of an hour into the second half, ASM midfielder Marco Di Vaio finished easily on Carrasso, after a dismal marking effort by Marseille’s defense. Two minutes after the equalizer, the already defeaning cheers from the stands grew as Djibril Cissé came onto the pitch for his first game with his favourite childhood club. It took him fifteen minutes to one-two the ball to Mamadou Niang, who produced a quality finish, and secured a most important win for Marseille, now in sixth place.

Said Cissé after the match (translated from French): I’m very satisfied to have held my own. I was thinking I would play fifteen or twenty minutes, and I played forty. Tonight was somewhat of a dream, that of playing for Marseille. I played in front of my mother, my wife, my son, my friends. This was not the Djibril Cissé that you know, but it’s a good start. I was welcomed fantastically by a great crowd. I was like a little kid who was playing for a new club. I’m also happy for Mamadou (Niang), who hadn’t scored in a while.

Bordeaux, fresh off a good win in Holland, fell at home to a so-so Rennes side. Marveaux and Utaka scored for the visitors in the first hour, before Darcheville pulled a goal back on 68 minutes to give the Girondins hope. In vain. The teams are 8th and 10th, respectively.

Sochaux, the team in form at the moment, couldn’t salvage more than a scoreless draw against 14th-ranked Valenciennes, and in doing so drop to fourth place.

And in a match not too important as far as the table is concerned, Troyes and Auxerre played to a frantic 3-3 draw, with the visitors showcasing a great comeback, scoring two goals in the last ten minutes.

Sunday, in a matchup of great attackers and table positions, Lille and Saint-Étienne played to a 2-2 draw in Villeneuve d’Ascq. Ilan bagged his side’s two goals, with a little help from his friend Frédéric Piquionne, who is working wonders with his new partner up front. And the other dynamic duo, Bodmer and Keita, who scored against Milan last week, netted their team’s goals in between. Lille sits in third place, synonym of the qualification round for the UCL.

And in the traditional weekly Lyon win, Paris was the latest victim. Coming into the match hoping for a win to help them psychologically more than anything, they played not a bad game. Wiltord struck PSG in the stomach just before half-time, finishing a set play. Pauleta equalized on the hour following a magnificent free kick into the top of Coupet’s net. Hoping to get a draw at the very least, Paris’ efforts went for naught when Cris and Malouda crucified them a minute apart in the 87th and 88th minutes, to put away the match for good. Paris is now in a pitiful 15th place, and I’ll let you all guess where Lyon is. (Hint: their successor is all of 14 points behind.)

Other scores: Toulouse 0-1 Lens; Lorient 2-0 Sedan; Nantes 0-0 Le Mans; Nice 0-0 Nancy