Home form has deserted Marseille this season, taking just 25 points from a possible 45 at the Stade Velodrome and after just 12 minutes Montpellier were in front. Wahbi Khazri skillfully juggled the ball over Matteo Guendouzi’s head in the middle of the park before finding Elye Wahi, whose clever round-the-corner ball found the onrushing Arnaud Nordin to cooly slot in the opener. The linesman originally ruled the goal out for offside, but after an unnecessarily lengthy VAR check, the original decision was overturned. VAR was at the heart of the drama again, this time at the end of the half. The referee failed to spot substitute Mamadou Sakho, blocking an Alexis Sanchez strike with his arm but VAR intervened, awarding the spot-kick which Guendouzi put away confidently.
Montpellier have only beaten one side currently sitting in the top half this season and on this showing you can see why. For all their defensive resilience, Michel Der Zakarian’s side displayed very little attacking intent in the second half as they seemingly settled for a point on the road. Since Der Zakarian's appointment, Montpellier’s upturn in form has been nothing short of remarkable, and holding Marseille in their own backyard tonight added to their impressive tally of 17 points from a possible 21 under his stewardship - only Arsenal have more in that time in Europe's top five leagues.
Marseille lacked belief from the first whistle and although that’s only two defeats in their last 17 games, picking up a solitary point at home here is a long way off title-winning form.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Wahbi Khazri (Montpellier Hérault SC)
