x Schalke professional Sead Kolasinac scored a fantastic goal for Olympique Marseille. There was a lot of praise for it – from the commentator and his coach.

He advanced into the penalty area, outdistanced his opponent with a sensitive ball roll with his sole and then piked into the shallow corner. Admittedly, this does not sound like a typical scene for the combative Sead Kolasinac. But that is exactly how the ex Schalke professional scored the interim 3:0 for Olympique Marseille against FC Toulouse (6:1) on Thursday evening.

“He dribbles his way through it, discovers the Messi in him,” raved DAZN commentator Matthias Naebers. “Master Sead,” was the message on the French team’s Twitter account. Kolasinac’s coach also joined in the praise after the win, which lifted OM to third place in the French Ligue 1.

“He always has to play after that goal,” Igor Tudor told L’Équipe with a twinkle in his eye. For Kolasinac was not even scheduled for the starting eleven. “Nuno Tavares was supposed to play, but he threw up and had stomach pains,” the 44-year-old explained. So Kolasinac made his seventh appearance from the start in the league. “Sead is a great guy. He always pushes himself to the maximum and deserves his success for his work and behaviour.

Kolasinac makes twelve appearances in Ligue 1 and four in the Champions League for Olympique Marseille this season – both at centre-back and full-back. His record: one assist, two goals and a comparison with Lionel Messi.