Steve Mandanda: Olympique De Marseille Took A Good Point Against Saint-Etienne

Olympique de Marseille shot-stopper Steve Mandanda has claimed that his side’s 1-1 draw away at Saint-Etienne was a good result.

Les Phoceens took the lead against the run of play when Andre-Pierre Gignac smashed his first goal for OM, but Sainte were the better side for long spells and drew level thanks to Laurent Batlles early in the second half. The hosts might even have stolen a win, but Mandanda made a fine save at the death to deny Blaise Matuidi and preserve what he sees as a good draw.

“Saint-Etienne were in front of us [in the Ligue 1 standings] before the game so we wanted to win here to get as close to the head of the table as quickly as possible,” the goalkeeper told Orange Sport. “But then there was a good team against us, showing us that they are very good this season. It is difficult to come and win [in Saint-Etienne]. So we will say for tonight is a good point.”

While Sainte stay top of Ligue 1 ahead of Sunday’s fixtures, Marseille are now up to sixth, five points behind the provisional leaders.