Dede Ayew: Marseille Can Win Ligue 1 Again

Olympique Marseille won 1-0 at Nancy last Sunday to stay top of Ligue 1 and extend their best ever league start to five consecutive wins. Jordan Ayew's header in the 54th minute lifted a dominant Marseille to 15 points from five games, two ahead of Olympique Lyon who beat Ajaccio 2-0 thanks to goals in each half by Dejan Lovren and Lisandro Lopez.

Marseille, who had never previously won their five opening league matches, outclassed their lowly hosts in the first half but lacked sharpness.

Earlier in the  11th minute, the older of the Ayew Brothers, Andre ‘ Dede’, shot past Ndy Assembe only to see defender Vincent Muratori stop the ball on the goal line. Marseille kept creating chances after the break and the younger Ayew eventually put them in front when he netted a powerful header from the penalty spot after his brother Andre's cross.

The win seems to have boosted the confidence of Dede Ayew who believes his side now has the quality to win the Ligue 1 title this season. The Ghanaian international was an intergral part of the les Phoceens side who finished in a mediocre 10th place last season, but managed to progress to the Champions League quarterfinals before losing 4-0 on aggregate to Bayern Munich.

However, under Elie Baup, the French giant has surged to the top of Ligue 1, winning four out of four games, a feat Ayew sees as a reflection of the quality at the club. "No I am not surprised by league start. Most of our players were quarter-finalists in the Champions League, and also won the Coupe de la Ligue," Ayew was quoted as saying by RMC Sport. "It is true that we did not need anything, we know what we want to do together. Everyone wants to take responsibility and move forward.

"The president and other senior leaders have said that the goal was top five. But when you play at Marseille, [the goal] is to be top of the table. We have the players to go far and be on the podium.

Source: OM.net