Dimitri Payet
Rudi Garcia has lauded the influence of Dimitri Payet after Marseille came from behind to beat Nice 2-1 on Sunday.
After seeing Lyon and Monaco win earlier in the day, L’OM knew they could not afford any slip-ups as they looked to keep their top-three hopes alive, but they got off to a disastrous start when Mario Balotelli opened the scoring for Nice inside the opening five minutes at the Stade Velodrome.
However, France international Payet took control of the match after that, first setting up Valere Germain’s equaliser before grabbing the winner himself late in the second half.
Payet’s performance certainly pleased Garcia, who believes the 31-year-old showed exactly why Marseille brought him back to the club from West Ham in January last year.
“Payet is the Dimitri we recruited and he makes the difference,” he told the Ligue 1 website. “He’s always willing to take on his responsibilities and he lifts the team. He has the will to win and talent.”
Garcia was also pleased by the determination his side showed not only to beat seventh-place Nice but also to record the victory just three days after they were taken to extra time by Salzburg during the second leg of their Europa League semi-final tie.
“This was an excellent win because we were up against a very good side who took the lead early,” Garcia added. “Also, we were playing three days on from a European semi-final that went to extra time and cost us a lot of energy.”
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