Lopez, there's really no more debate

Over the weeks, his detractors are becoming fewer and fewer. Or less noisy, depending. Force of habit may be in front of an established situation, which nothing seems to be able to change in Jorge Sampaoli’s mind. Or maybe just because Pau Lopez is silencing the critics. Last weekend, his performance against Lille where he pulled out all the stops only reinforced this impression. “ He imposed himself little by little, quietly. The debate with Steve Mandanda is no longer necessary for some time. And he punctuated that with a remarkable performance against Lille
“, confirms Fabrice Lamperti, journalist at Provence. There are of course always pro-Mandanda . Both in the media and in the stands. One does not unbolt a framework of the importance of the former Le Havre without making waves for several months in a club like OM where the regulars of the Vélodrome like to have memory. But Pau Lopez remains straight in his boots to put an end to doubts about his ability to settle in the Marseille goal. “ For the supporters, the world is divided into two categories: the pro-Mandanda and the pro-Lopez. However for the pro- Mandanda is linked to the fact that we are talking about a historical figure because little by little, everyone is seeing the performances of Pau Lopez, explains Fabrice Lamperti to us. No one is fooled. And everyone understands that it is a good guard, and not the disjointed puppet that some had described when he arrived.”.
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Pau Lopez during the checkmate ch between Marseille and Lens, September 26, 2021 in Ligue 1
Credit: Getty Images

Stats that speak for themselves
If his style is not always very academic and after his first steps in the Marseille goal “rather cahin-caha” (“There was nothing crazy in his performances“, launches Lamperti), the former Roma, who had his automatic purchase option triggered at the beginning of the year, can no longer boast of presenting some flattering statistics. Already, the last bulwark of 27 years old is at the head of the best defense in L1, with 16 goals conceded – two less than PSG or Nice -. “ The results are there, he succeeds in his matches and the team does not concede goals , greeted Joseph-Antoine Bell, the former Cameroonian international, in the Provence last December. OM have therefore stabilized defensively . (…) “. And he is necessarily no stranger to it.
With 81.4%, the Spaniard thus has a better save percentage in L1 than the excellent Walter Benitez in Nice (79.7%), the Lyonnais Anthony Lopez (75%), the Rennes native Alfred Gomis ( 72.3%) or the Parisians Gianluigi Donnarumma (78.6%) and Keylor Navas (77.1%). And to further the debate a little more, Mandanda only posted a percentage of 66.7 last season in the league (64.3% this season). Especially after being singled out for his deficient footwork at Roma or even a failing mentality on his arrival, the international with two selections with Spain today has a real role in the construction of the Marseille game.
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And in addition, it is “unanimous within the group and in the club”
Priority axis in the eyes of Sampaoli for his goalkeeper, his participation in the game is obvious. Even if he is most often satisfied with short raises, he does not hesitate to play high to participate in the animation of his team, we have even seen him in the central circle in recent weeks. “ He plays higher, it’s today’s game. But the goalkeeper is ‘a line’, and with the new rules, he touches the ball more often as a player than as a goalkeeper. He is one more man in the construction “, noted Joseph-Antoine Bell in Provence. And for Sampaoli, it’s anything but a detail.
Effective on the ground even if some remain on the lookout for his slightest mistakes, Pau Lopez also knew how to impose himself serenely. And even seduce. “ He is a boy who quickly won unanimous support within the group and in the club more generally, confides Fabrice Lamperti to us. calm, intelligent. He has studied a little more advanced than the average in sports science. And commands a kind of respect that is quite natural.” Off the lawns. But more and more on it too.
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