Marseille strikes when it counts, beats Troyes 0-2 despite home side's shot blitz

Troyes spent nearly the entire match crashing into the post, the crossbar and Jeffrey de Lange, and ended up with nothing to show for it. Marseille won 0-2 at the Stade de l'Aube thanks to a goal from Amine Harit right at the start of the second half and a penalty converted by Himad Abdelli deep into stoppage time, in a Ligue 1 clash.

One stat sums up the first half better than anything else: Adrien Monfray hit the crossbar with a header in the 4th minute, barely after kickoff, and later Jeremy Le Douaron grazed the top corner with another header in the 41st. Troyes pushed, created clear chances, and went into the break with the score still blank, which given their efforts felt like something close to a letdown.

Marseille strikes first out of the locker room

The script flipped as soon as play resumed. In the 49th minute, Amine Harit finished with his right foot from the center of the box after a cross from Emerson to make it 0-1. It was Marseille's first real blow of the match, and it was enough to change the scoreline, though not the flow of the game: Troyes kept pressing forward.

Renaud Ripart, who had come on from the bench, tried a header that forced a low save, and later hit the right post deep into stoppage time. Timothe Nkada also tested the visiting goalkeeper with another header that was stopped right next to the post. The home side had the bodies and the chances to equalize, but couldn't find the finish when it mattered most.

The knockout blow came in stoppage time, which the fourth official extended to seven minutes. In the 95th minute, a penalty was awarded for a foul by Patrick Beach inside the box on Faris Moumbagna, and two minutes later, in the 97th, Himad Abdelli converted it with a low shot into the left corner to seal the final 0-2.

What the numbers say

The stats tell an odd story: Troyes had more shots and more shots on target, but Marseille controlled the ball comfortably.

The xG calculated from the match's shots comes out nearly even, with 1.40 for Troyes against 1.37 for Marseille, confirming that the home side created enough danger to at least take a point. The final score, however, ended up far more lopsided than the run of play suggested.

Before the match, we had projected a 57% chance for Marseille, a 23% chance of a draw and just 20% for Troyes, with expected goals of 2.10 for the visitors and 1.21 for the home side. The final result matched the favoritism we gave Marseille, though the flow of the game, with Troyes leading in shots and chances, was a lot more even than those preseason numbers suggested.

What it means in the standings

So far this season, Troyes has managed just 4 points in 6 matches played, with 1 win, 1 draw and 4 losses, sitting in 17th place. Marseille, meanwhile, has 6 points with 2 wins and 4 losses, sitting in 13th place, just 2 points above their opponent from this afternoon. Neither club is off to a comfortable start this season, and this result leaves Troyes still stuck near the bottom of the table while Marseille can breathe a little easier.