Marseille targets second in Ligue 1 after weekend

Marseille shift Ligue 1 target to second place

Marseille midfielder Valentin Rongier has hinted that they are now fighting for second or third position in the French Ligue 1 after their 2-0 win over Nantes.

Sunday’s victory at the Orange Velodrome put Roberto Di Zerbi’s side 13 points behind runaway league leaders Paris Saint-Germain who are yet to lose a league match this season.

Marseille have been PSG’s closest rival for the Ligue 1 crown this term but it appears they would still need to wait longer for their first league title since 2010.

They had to dig deep into the final 20 minutes of Sunday’s encounter against Nantes with Rongier coming off the bench to pull strings in the midfield as goals from Amine Gouiri and Mason Greenwood sealed their win.

Rongier’s future in the Southern French city has gradually become a talking point since the arrivals of Amar Dedic and Ismael Bennacer in January.

The French midfielder has been limited to just one start in Marseille’s last four matches but his introduction from the bench boosted the team’s attacking play.

He summarised his instinctive impact in the game and how Marseille are now fighting for either a second or third position in the league.

Rongier speaks about Ligue 1 Race to Rant Sports

“I’m not sure that the coach wants to use me high up the pitch, I took the depth on the goal, but it wasn’t an instruction,” Rongier said after the game, as quoted by Rant Sports.

“I just saw the space and against a team as an individual, you have to go beyond your role. It was important to bounce back, that’s the mark of great teams, I’m not saying that we are one, but we are becoming one, we are on the right track.

“There are matches where we won’t be on our best day, but we have to win. This is what will allow us to finish 2nd, 3rd. Because in a year, no one will talk about the content of this match anymore.”

Rongier, further broke down how the Nantes game was a difficult encounter for Marseille despite their 2-0 victory.

He highlighted the tactical match-up was not what they prepared for from Antoine Kombouare’s team.

“We didn’t expect them to play so high up, we were thinking more of a 5-3-2, or 5-4-1,” he added.

“We didn’t expect individual marking in this match. Well done to them for coming to the Velodrome to do that.

“They know that we like to play with the ball and when we’re not in a hurry, we get the ball out well and today, we were in more difficulty.”

Sunday’s result powered Marseille back to winning ways after their capitulated to a 3-0 loss at Auxerre a week ago.

Di Zerbi’s men will play host to Lens at the Orange Velodrome on Saturday, March 8 before travelling to the French capital city for the Classic against Paris Saint Germain on March 16.