Jonathan Rowe says Marseille must keep pushing and maintain scoring form

Rowe is playing his part for Marseille
Rowe is playing his part for MarseilleIcon Sport / ddp USA / Profimedia
England youth international Jonathan Rowe has urged Olympique Marseille to maintain their momentum after snapping a disappointing run of results.

The Olympians had suffered a rough patch in the French top flight, losing four of their five matches between March and April, conceding 12 goals while managing just five in return.

Nevertheless, Marseille got back to winning ways with a 5-1 victory over Montpellier at Stade Velodrome, where Rowe came off the bench to get on the scoresheet.

Fueled by the relief that the result brought to Roberto De Zerbi’s men, the youngster is now calling on his teammates to keep pushing as the Ligue 1 campaign heads into its final stretch.

"It has been a difficult few weeks here. I realized you can go from higher to low very quickly, and vice versa, you know," Rowe told Flashscore.com.

“In my opinion, we just have to keep pushing and continue our fine performances with goals."

After facing difficulty securing a regular spot at English Championship side Norwich City, Rowe made the move to former European champions Marseille in August 2024, joining on an initial season-long loan with an obligation to buy for €15 million, including add-ons.

Despite the high quality of players at the club, the 21-year-old has made 24 league appearances so far, scoring three goals.

He looked back on the dominant win over Montpellier, where he scored just nine minutes after coming on to replace Amine Gouiri.

Rowe continued: "Once we got the second goal, then the fifth goal, we started to feel more confident and we can understand the fans’ frustration. 

"You guys want to see goals and a good performance and no doubt the first half was difficult."

Reflecting on what manager De Zerbi told him before his introduction in place of the Algeria international, he added: "He said we needed a little bit more intensity.

"Sometimes games like that can get a bit tough physically, so I've got to bring my energy and I'm still young, so I've got to bring as much energy as I can.

"(Marseille’s technical crew) see that I’m working hard and I can make a make an impact when some of my teammates are tired, it is just about not being complacent. 

"I think that whole team felt bad that we conceded, but, you know, we work hard every week to try and correct that, so we can have a perfect game."

The nine-time French league champions sit second in the table with 55 points from 30 matches, just two points ahead of fifth-placed Lille.

They must maintain their newfound form to secure automatic qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Marseille host ninth-placed Brest on Sunday, and a win would boost their European qualification hopes.

In that crunch fixture, players will wear a special edition jersey featuring a tribute flocking that honours club legend Didier Drogba.

The Olympians have found the net in all 15 of their home Ligue 1 matches against Brest, scoring a total of 30 goals. Also, they have also scored five or more goals in a match five times this Ligue 1 season.

This feat is only bettered by Barcelona and Bayern Munich across Europe’s top five leagues.

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