Football NewsJorge Sampaoli praised Thauvin after goal dedication
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Jorge Sampaoli singled out Florian Thauvin for the praise after the Marseille winger dedicated his goal against Brest to his new coach.

 

Birthday victory

Thauvin fired late in the game to regain Marseille’s lead and celebrated with Sampaoli, who was able to celebrate his birthday with a win, as Michael Cuisance went to score in his spare time to make him 3-1 for the home team. The win is Marseille’s second win since Sampaoli took charge of the team, as the Argentine’s reign began with a 1-0 win over Rennes on Wednesday. The 61-year-old happily secured three points from a tough match and believes his team’s tactics were less influential than the emotions of the game. “Thauvin’s goal was very important to us. Thauvin really wanted to celebrate this evening and he came to dedicate it to me on my birthday,” Sampaoli said at a press conference. “The energy that the team was able to bring and the changes that they managed to bring allowed us to go for this victory. “With energy, will, we can now progress in the game. This is a victory based more on emotion than tactics.”

 

It was a test

Maeseille has won just one of his last 11 Ligue 1 matches before the arrival of Sampaoli, and Thauvin is relieved to see his side turn form.“It was a real test to see if we can collect two wins. It was not easy, but we did it. Substitutes made a very important contribution. It allowed us to finish the match. “I’m glad to see OM with this happy face again, it’s good for us, for the supporters. Hopefully we can continue. We’ll have a week to work well.” Dimitri Payet, who set Arkadiusz Milik on a starting goal early in the second half before Lilian Brassier equalized for Brest, hopes that OM can build on his positive start to Sampaoli. “We have to congratulate Brest who tried to play,” he said. “Between Luis Henrique and Cuisance, we saw the alternates as decisive, like at the beginning of the week against Rennes.” That’s six points in two games, it’s very encouraging for the future. It allows us to have a quieter week to rest and work.” Marseille, now fifth in Ligue 1, will face Nice in the French top flight next week. They will then host Dijon on April 4th.