Sent back to the reserves at the end of October, 20-year-old winger Keyliane Abdallah gave Marseille victory at Lens (2-1), scoring in the 82nd minute, four minutes after coming on.
Brought on in the 78th minute, Keyliane Abdallah scored Marseille’s second goal four minutes later. He followed up an initial shot from Marseille striker Amine Gouiri, deflected by Samson Baidoo, to score at Bollaert-Delelis.
The young Marseille player had just returned from a spell in the reserves. After a substitute appearance deemed disappointing against Le Havre (4-3) on 25 October, he had been sidelined by Marseille head coach Bruno Genesio before being brought back into the fold.
A goal that counts in the run
The win at Lens is Marseille’s fifth consecutive victory in Ligue 1, a run that has taken the club from 17th to 4th in the table, according to Maxifoot. Abdallah now has 2 goals in 9 Ligue 1 appearances this season, again according to Maxifoot.
Those figures remain modest, but this goal carries particular weight for a player who returned from the reserves just a few weeks earlier.
Genesio praises his character
The Marseille coach focused above all on the player’s reaction rather than the goal. “It says a lot about his character and his qualities, which we knew about. After my decision, he could have failed to question himself, looked for excuses, but he did the opposite. He worked, I got good reports, I brought him back and so I consider him as before,” Bruno Genesio said, quoted by Onze Mondial.
According to L’Équipe, as reported by Onze Mondial, Genesio never saw it as a punishment, but as a way of “needling” his player.
Maoulida proud of his nephew
Toifilou Maoulida, a former Marseille player in 2006-2007 and Keyliane Abdallah’s uncle, paid tribute to him on social media, as reported by Onze Mondial and Maxifoot. “You could have had your head under water when the coach decided to send you to the reserves, but you had enormous strength of character and mental strength. I told you, it wasn’t a punishment, but a decision that will move you forward. Savour it, but above all don’t get carried away, because I’ll be on your back. Well done kid!” he wrote.
The message echoes Genesio’s position: the decision was not a punishment. It also underlines the caution expected of a 20-year-old player who has made 9 Ligue 1 appearances this season.
Marseille will not play in Ligue 1 again until after the international break. Abdallah should remain in Genesio’s rotation.