L’OL Sends a Strong Message to Ligue 1

On Sunday evening, OL secured a narrow 2-1 victory against Strasbourg. The team now sits in 4th place in the standings, tied on points (18) with Marseille. This win brought smiles to the players, especially captain Corentin Tolisso. “It’s positive. It was important to win tonight after two losses in the league. We knew this was a great opportunity to move ahead, and now we’re tied with Marseille. There are three matches left before the break, and we need to maintain this momentum.” Jorge Maciel, assistant to Paulo Fonseca, shared the sentiment. “This was a team effort. We showed humility; we weren’t at our best, but whenever we face top 5 or 6 teams, we tend to win. There is a strong group feeling. The fans supported us from the warm-up, and that gives us energy.”

Moussa Niakhaté expressed his happiness and confidence for the future. “We are happy. It’s a deserved victory and a great battle. This year, we’ve beaten Lille, Marseille, Lens… but today’s win feels the most rewarding. We showed character that we had lost in recent matches and played aggressively. I’m sure we would have won even without the red card. I don’t remember them having many clear chances. We came back to equalize and then take the lead, and our defensive solidity, which we’ve worked on all summer, paid off. We are sending a message to our forwards: we’ll ensure the defense; it’s up to you to score, and we’ll win. The two losses kept us from reaching the top twice, but tonight we deserve to be where we are. The Paris FC match is coming up quickly on Wednesday; we have a small squad and a lot of fatigue, but we will keep working.” That’s the formula for OL’s success.