Dimitri Payet roars back into view with audacious Marseille winner | Football

While the old tale about a cat having nine lives may not be exactly true, there is certainly something of the feline aspect to Dimitri Payet. From his bust-up with Blaise Matuidi at Saint-Étienne and subsequent first cap for France to his departure to Lille as a mooted replacement for Eden Hazard to his first spell at Marseille to his captivating, but ultimately ill-fated spell with West Ham United. The Réunion-born attacker has never failed to capture the imagination, despite being lambasted as washed-up, a shell of his former self, or, as Hammers fans would aver, “Le Snake.”

However, after missing out on winning the 2018 World Cup with his country following an injury suffered in the Europa League final, Payet’s career appeared to perhaps have run its course. After recording 23 assists in all competitions that season, his total fell to less than a third of that last season, and he had not scored in the league at the start of the current campaign in nearly 11 months. Injuries played their role in limiting his effectiveness last year, and the growing status of Florian Thauvin as the team’s attacking focal point also dimmed Payet’s star considerably.

This year appeared to be more of the same; Payet did score a couple goals, but after he unwisely was sent off against Montpellier, earning him a four-match ban, the wisdom of his place within the team was a matter of doubt. This was due to the combination of his exorbitant wages and what seemed to be a frustrating reliance on him by his teammates, who at times appeared to still be in thrall to a player whose best days were patently behind him This is something that was made doubly difficult in light of the absence of Thauvin, who has missed all but a handful of minutes this season.

Upon returning from that suspension, Payet’s first match back was Le Classique, a match in which were throttled, 4-0, by PSG. Payet displayed little in the encounter, though his teammates offered even less. Rather than that match having marked a slide for a team threadbare in terms of depth, especially in attack, it became the last time that OM, under André Villas-Boas, lost in the league. Payet has been instrumental and is back to, if not his best as his 33rd birthday approaches, certainly in the discussion for this season’s best attacking player outside of the capital, alongside Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder and Lyon’s Moussa Dembélé.

Indeed, six of Payet’s eight league goals (his career best is 13, with Saint-Étienne nearly a decade ago) have come since returning to fitness, a fortuitous response for his club as summer arrival Dario Benedetto, who has scored just three in seventeen games. It has not always been pretty for Marseille, who have relied far more this season on the excellence of Steve Mandanda (another player who has impressively rolled back the years) than any component of their attack, but the results speak for themselves, and with l’OM now nine points clear of fourth, a return to the Champions’ League looks more likely with each passing week.

Saturday’s win over Toulouse was a textbook example of the team’s edict with Payet re-energised. Before the match, no team had scored against the hosts in 2020 in the league, and Toulouse, badly adrift at the bottom and missing several key players, seemed as though they would not test Marseille. However, after riding their luck nearly from kick off with Aaron Leya Iseka hitting the post from two metres out, and Quentin Boisgard forcing Mandanda into a save from a tight angle, Marseille slowly came to choke the life out of the match.

Their grip on the match was rewarded, then, by Payet hitting an absolutely stunning goal from just outside the area shortly after the restart, the sort of audacious finish that caused Villas-Boas to recently remark, “Barcelona are Messi dependent, Juventus are Ronaldo dependent. If we’re Payet dependent, we’re Payet dependent.”

While the Catalan club have used Messi to paper over the cracks in recent years and are operating at a much higher level than OM, the freedom with which Payet has played of late under the Portuguese has often been the difference, and the results, which see Marseille having their best season in nearly a decade, are difficult to refute.

It’s not said and done yet for Marseille, though. Lille loom on Sunday, and that is only after what’s sure to be a contentious Coupe de France match against Lyon in mid-week. However, Villas-Boas’s canny use of Payet has been instrumental in the club’s fortunes reviving on the pitch. With Marseille continuing to have a difficult time financially off the pitch owing to FFP constraints, it would be no small matter for OM to return to Europe’s premier competition, especially in a league this campaign where the finest of margins look set to separate clubs from a place in Europe next season and a frustrating mid-table finish.

Talking Points

• While Marseille look more likely to come second with each passing week, third remains a tightly-fought battle, and Lille’s resurgence has been key in that. Les Dogues have shaken off their woes on the road to win tricky trips to Strasbourg and Angers to win three in a row. The resurgence of Renato Sanches and strong play from Loïc Rémy, who has been a foil for Victor Osimhen in attack, have been key, but the team’s defence has improved as well, conceding just one goal in that span.

• Nîmes also earned their third win in a row, coming away victorious, 3-1, from ten-man Nice. The winter arrivals of Nolan Roux and Yassine Benrahou have been crucial in reimagining the team’s attack after losing Renaud Ripart for an extended spell. Les Crocos don’t look back to the level that made them so compelling last season, but Nîmes’ survival now looks possible.

Finally, have Lyon run out of time? Despite their investments in January, the Rhône club’s inevitable loss to PSG last night saw them still eight points and six places away from the Champions’ League places. Lacking depth and proven leaders in attack, the team have shown more gumption under Rudi Garcia than his predecessor Sylvinho, but it is starting to look like the loss of Memphis Depay and, to a lesser extent, Jeff Reine-Adélaïde, may simply be too hard to overcome.

• This is an article from Get French Football News
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