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After suffering five problems in the first leg, Olympique de Marseille were hoping to take another step towards qualifying for the next round of the Europa League with this tense visit to Athens. Gennaro Gattuso’s men got off to a serious start, but Vitinha squandered a great opportunity. in the 15th minute when he missed his penalty shot (16′).
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As in the first leg, the Focenses opened the scoring: from a corner taken from the right through Jonathan Clauss, Chancel Mbemba won his duel with Szymanski to make the net ring and, above all, put his team on the right track (0-1, 22′). The players celebrated with a Rongier jersey, in tribute to their teammate who was injured for several weeks.
THE SCOOOORE OPENER for OM with a header from Chancel Mbemba!⚪️#AEKOM: 0️⃣-⃣ 1️ #UEL pic. twitter. com/b1DWKDz87G
Despite having a full stadium, AEK didn’t have that moment for the moment and Chancel Mbemba came close to scoring a brace. The Congolese foreign defender received a good corner, but this time the Greek goalkeeper intervened by clearing the ball with his fists. Before the break, Gacinovic tried his luck from distance to check and wake up his team, but his shot went over the posts of Pau López (44′). OM returned to the locker room with a short but logical lead.
The break was smart for the Athenians who returned to the pitch with good intentions. It took a great save from Pau López on a header from Levi García to save the Greek equaliser (51′). The atmosphere has become more tense in the dugouts. One of AEK’s assistants was sent off directly because of referee Glenn Nyberg. The OM goalkeeper continued his impeccable run with another decisive save on a shot from the left by Gacinovic (55′). The Greek champions were unable to take advantage of this outstanding moment. controlled the lead but Iliman Ndiaye could not recover the ball on his own on the left (79′). Shortly after, it was Vitinha who hit the post with a hard shot across goal (80′).
The end of the match is electric with the siege of Marseille’s goal: AEK received several damaging corners in a row and Jonathan Clauss stood out with a save on his line (89′). Pau López is also imperious and reassures his team. In the end, it was OM who managed to score the second goal of the afternoon: in a great recovery, Jordan Veretout escaped through the middle and was able to feed Ismaïla Sarr, unmarked, to finish the task (2-0, 90′ 3).
It was all gone and Olympique de Marseille showed themselves with Ismaïla Sarr’s goal!#AEKOM: 0️⃣-⃣ 2️ #UEL pic. twitter. com/afxiD3j3fO
After four rounds, Olympique de Marseille are more aware of their organisation in the Europa League before hosting Ajax and travelling to Brighton. Gennaro Gattuso’s men are proving their intelligent European form and can look to the future. It remains to be proven in the league in which OM has won only one game since August. Another big check awaits the Olympians when they visit Lens on Sunday night.
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Tuesday, October 17, 2023
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