2024-04-18 22:29:03
Olympique de Marseille qualified for the semi-finals of the Europa League by defeating Benfica at the end of the penalty shootout, in the quarter-final second leg on Thursday at the Stade Vélodrome. The Marseillais will face Atalanta Bergamo in the semi-final, who eliminated Liverpool.
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Carried by the tumult of the Stade Vélodrome, Olympique de Marseille managed, at the end of its strength, to qualify on Thursday April 18 for the semi-finals of the Europa League and to give meaning to its end of the season by eliminating Benfica on penalties (1-0 following, 4 tab to 2, 2-1 defeat in the first leg).
It was Europe which kept OM alive throughout this painful season and which prevented it from being a disaster from A to Z. Ultimately, it is still Europe which might allow Marseille to come out at the top.
Because the Europa League continues for OM, with a double confrontation to come once morest Atalanta Bergamo, open and which can allow us to dream of a new European final following those of 1991, 1993, 1999, 2004 and 2018.
For OM, the problems began in August with a failed penalty shootout once morest Panathinaikos in the Champions League play-off. The coach was still called Marcelino and, since then, crises, injuries, disasters and changes of coach have followed one another.
But on Thursday, the terrible session this time turned in the right direction with five perfect strikes for Marseille and two misses for the Portuguese, in a legendary uproar. Angel Di Maria hit the post and Antonio Silva came up short once morest Pau Lopez, who had once called himself “bad” in the exercise.
Read alsoEuropa League: OM loses once more but keeps hope alive
The Spanish goalkeeper was also one of the big men of this qualification, with several decisive saves, when it was necessary to leave OM alive.
An attack at half mast
Because even if the Vélodrome was pushing very hard, like the mistral of the day, Marseille had still not scored at the break and were virtually eliminated.
During these first 45 minutes, Marseille’s performance was rather good, but OM were overtaken by the problem that has dogged them since the start of the season: a lack of offensive quality that is truly crippling at these heights.
Iliman Ndiaye thus had the first good opportunity of the match (7e), but then he no longer made the slightest difference, while Amine Harit, lost in his bad choices for weeks now, did everything wrong.
Benfica, for its part, was for a long time content to monitor Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the only Marseille offensive player to really have the goal in his head, and to launch a few counterattacks.
Read alsoEuropa League: at OM, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is reborn and sets new records
It was enough to finally play a shot accurately to make the Portuguese give in when Aubameyang, well launched by Jordan Veretout, overflowed and placed a perfect cross on the head of Faris Moumbagna (1-0, 79e). The Cameroonian still had two opportunities to qualify for OM, but he did not score and the affair had to go to overtime. There, between two brilliant moves by Aubameyang, Marseille still had to count its men.
Fourbus, Samuel Gigot and Amine Harit thus left their places to young Raimane Daou and Gaël Lafont, known only to a few very assiduous followers of the N3 team coached by Jean-Pierre Papin and the U19 championship.
They fulfilled their role and the rest, the penalties, therefore belonged to OM and their incredible public, who still have a meeting with Europe, on May 2 once morest Atalanta Bergamo for the semi-final first leg. Until then, OM have three Ligue 1 matches to play. But Thursday evening, its 9e place in the championship was very far away.
With AFP
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