Marseille have started to recover from their terrible start to this year’s Ligue 1 campaign and with a 2-1 away win against Caen they find themselves within nine points of league leaders Montpellier in seventh place, something that would have been unthinkable after their first two months. Caen didn’t make it easy for the Champions League side, however, harassing and harrying their guests throughout and employing the time-honoured tactic of kicking them very hard as often as possible.
Caen Vs. Marseille, 2011 Ligue 1: Marseille Scrape 3 Points To Go 7th
Despite the physical play they were being exposed to, it was Marseille who grabbed the game's first goal, Andre Ayew failing to waste the opportunity when presented with an easy rebound after Morgan Amalfitano's shot had been touched onto the crossbar by Alexis Thebeux. That lead wasn't to last very long - the visiting defence was a total mess following the opener and Caen ran rings around them in their own penalty box for thirty seconds before Steve Mandanda finally got bored of the farce and haul down Livio Nabab. Pierre-Alain Frau stepped up to take the spot kick and lashed the ball into the top corner for the equaliser, and things would stay level until the second half.
Caen were playing reasonably well and putting a decent amount of pressure on the Marseille goal, but they were also committing too many players forward and their guests were going to make them pay. A perfect counterattack saw Andre Ayew race down the centre of the pitch and release Souleymane Diawara on the right. Diawara’s first-time centering pass was swept into the back of the net by Jordan Ayew, and Marseille had a lead that they would not relinquish.
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