Garcia salutes Marseille's 'leader' Payet

Dimitri Payet caught the eye for Marseille on Thursday as the French side crushed RB Leipzig 5-2, and Rudi Garcia took note.

Published : Apr 13, 2018 13:11 IST

Marseille coach Rudi Garcia saluted his team's "leader" Dimitri Payet after the France international played a starring role in Thursday's 5-2 Europa League win over RB Leipzig, securing a semi-final spot.

Having lost the first leg in Germany 1-0, Bruma's second-minute opener for the visitors left Marseille in a precarious position, but by the ninth minute they were back on level terms for the tie, as a Stefan Ilsanker own goal was followed by Bouna Sarr making it 2-1 on the day.

Although Florian Thauvin's goal just before the break was cancelled out by Jean-Kevin Augustin in the 55th minute, Payet put Marseille ahead on aggregate soon after with a glorious outside-of-the-foot finish and Hiroki Sakai wrapped things up late on.

And Garcia was impressed with captain Payet's overall contribution, leading from the front.

Garcia told beIN SPORTS: "We had two of our best players. Flo [Thauvin] scored, Dimitri was the playmaker.

"He shone, as in his play and while scoring. He set Flo up to score, he also plays the corner on the equaliser.

"To win 5-2 in the quarter-finals of a European competition, the team must be on top form. Everyone has been and Dimitri was a good leader."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment