Having made his long awaited return from injury as a substitute against Galatasaray on Thursday evening, Arkadiusz Milik is set to play a major role for Jorge Sampaoli's Marseille this season.
Milik hurt his knee against Metz on May 23 and the injury caused the Polish international to miss UEFA EURO 2020 and the opening matches of the new club season. OM have been operating without a recognised centre-forward in Milik's absence and his recovery is timely with Sampaoli's team enduring a downturn in form. OM lost their first game in all competitions when they fell at home to Lens in Round 8 in Ligue 1 Uber Eats, and four days later fired blanks in the UEFA Europa League as they drew 0-0 with Galatasaray.
Milik, 27, looked understandably rusty at Stade Vélodrome in his half-hour on the field after coming on for Bamba Dieng. Sampaoli will monitor Milik's reaction but the former Napoli hitman's qualities make him a candidate to start at champions LOSC on Sunday in Round 9.
Ünder: "He's a very good player"
Cengiz Ünder, OM's most dangerous player against Galatasaray, was effusive when talking about Milik in the pre-match press conference. Ünder said: "I know Milik from my time in Italy when he played for Napoli and I was at Roma. He's a very good player, he's very motivated and I think he'll bring a lot to the side. I hope he won't have any more injuries to deal with. He gives a lot in training and he gets on well with his team-mates. I hope he'll be able to bring his energy to the team."
Spaniard Pol Lirola, signed from Fiorentina this summer, was equally glowing when quizzed about the 1m86 tall forward the previous week. Lirola commented: "Everybody has missed Arek. I get on well with him on the field and I know where he's going to move in order to attack the ball. We all know what sort of player he is. He only needs a half-chance in order to score a goal."
Nine goals in 15 Ligue 1 Uber Eats games
After joining on loan from Napoli in January, Milik served Ligue 1 Uber Eats notice of his finishing ability by knocking in nine goals in 15 league appearances to help OM to a Europa League finish. In Milik's absence the likes of captain Dimitri Payet, the 21-year-old Dieng and the exciting Turkish international Ünder have ensured Sampaoli's attack-minded side haven't been short of goals.
Well, at least until recently. Held 0-0 at Angers in Round 7, Marseille have failed to get on the scoresheet in two of their last three matches in all competitions and Milik's return to full fitness couldn't come at a better time given that in the next month OM have a seriously challenging fixture list. As well as pitting themselves against Lille, Marseille go to Lazio for a crucial Europa League match, host Paris Saint-Germain in the first Classique of the season and take on Nice in a rescheduled league fxture.
Should Milik get back into the scoring groove and reprise his 2020-2021 form of a goal every 1.67 games then Marseille's prospects of securing their goal of Champions League qualification will be massively enhanced.
