'Valbuena reacted well' to hostile Marseille return - Bisevac

Lyon's Mathieu Valbuena insisted Marseille remains a
special place for him despite the bitter reception he
received at the Stade Velodrome.

Lyon defender Milan Bisevac hailed Mathieu Valbuena for the
way the midfielder handled a hostile return to Marseille on
Sunday.

Valbuena made his first appearance at Marseille's Stade
Velodrome since leaving the south coast club for Dynamo
Moscow in August 2014, and the local fans were not happy to
see the France international.

Early in the second half, Valbuena delayed taking a corner as
objects targeting him were hurled onto the pitch, while just after
the hour mark; referee Ruddy Buquet temporarily suspended the
match when more missiles were thrown at Lyon goalkeeper
Anthony Lopes.

While Lyon coach Hubert Fournier conceded his team did not
handle the 15-minute disruption well, Bisevac was impressed by
Valbuena's composure.

"Valbuena reacted well," the Serbian central defender told Lyon's
website.

"He is a great player with a lot of experience."

Valbuena was targeted on and off the pitch.

Before the match, Marseille fans hung an effigy of the
diminutive playmaker, while he was crunched by Marseille's
Romain Alessandrini just before half-time, which resulted in the
latter being sent off.

But the 30-year-old insisted he remains fond of the club where
he played for eight Ligue 1 campaigns.

"I was fine. I took a beating. This is my game," Valbuena said.
"It's weird to play against OM. I know everyone here. It's very
special.

"There was a large twinge in my heart. I put all my emotions
aside."

After Alexandre Lacazette gave Lyon the lead in the 25th minute
after he was awarded a soft penalty, Marseille fans were
incensed when the home side's Benjamin Mendy was judged to
have dived in the box in the 61st minute.

That prompted scenes that forced Buquet to take the players off
the pitch and following the resumption, Marseille equalised
thanks to Karim Rekik's header from a 68th-minute corner.

"The second half was complicated. The game has been stopped
more than 15 minutes," Fournier said.

"After that, Marseille came back better than us. We were not into
the game the first five minutes following the interruption. We
gave away the ball and took the risk to be punished."

Marseille coach Michel argued his team played better after
Alessandrini's red card but was worried the club's supporters
may see the Stade Velodrome empty in the coming weeks.

"I am of course against all situations that could lead us to play
in front of an empty stadium because without supporters,
football is no longer a show," he told Marseille's website.

"Our supporters are able to help the team. With an empty
stadium, it would be difficult. "