Marseille 3-1 Troyes
Portuguese striker Vitinha is off the mark for Marseille, after scoring twice to help his team to a 3-1 victory over Troyes in Ligue 1 on Sunday evening.
Vitinha arrived at the Stade Velodrome at the start of February from Braga in a €32m deal, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract. The 22-year-old’s start to life in France has been low-key, with no goals in his first six appearances and his role largely reduced to that of a substitute.
However, Vitinha was issued a starting spot for Sunday’s visit of Troyes and repaid the faith of coach Igor Tudor by opening the scoring inside two minutes. The forward played a significant role in Marseille winning possession high up the field and shortly afterwards found himself on-hand to seize the ball inside the area and smash his finish into the roof of the net.
Cengiz Ünder doubled the lead for Marseille, who left Nuno Tavares on the bench, five minutes before half time, but it would be Vitinha who proved the star of the show. The Portuguese was in the right place when the ball rebounded off the post and converted with a brilliant instinctive finish from inside the six-yard box on 64 minutes.
Vitinha was voted Man of the Match, while also becoming the first Portuguese to score twice for Marseille in Ligue 1. Speaking to the media afterwards, he said: “It feels good, I always had confidence in myself. I always worked to be able to be ready when I had my chance. I knew I would have opportunities. It’s a good result for Marseille for 2nd place. The team doesn’t doubt it.”
The striker was also praised by teammate Valentin Rongier, who added: “I’m very happy for Viti, he’s a very good guy who works, who doesn’t say anything. We could put ourselves in his place, he lacked confidence. I hope his two goals will do him the greatest good, as well as us.”
Marseille boss Tudor was asked about the difference Vitinha makes to his side, which remains in second place behind champions Paris Saint-Germain. “We are very happy for Vitinha,” Tudor said. “It took him a little time to adapt.
“Since the last international break, he has come back different. He brought freshness, great energy, he attacked spaces. He is always dangerous in the box, that’s his characteristic. I really liked this game, but each match has its story.”
By Sean Gillen
