From dream to nightmare. OM missed their Group D final against Tottenham (1-2) on Tuesday, November 1, during the sixth and final day of the Champions League group stage. Third and virtually transferred to the Europa League thanks to Frankfurt’s victory at Sporting Portugal (1-2), the Olympians lost everything in the dying seconds on a cruel goal from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (90e+5). Finally fourth, they will not play again in European competition this season.
We can not blame the men of Igor Tudor for playing small arms. OM did try to throw all their forces into battle. In the additional time of the meeting, Marseille projected themselves in number into the London camp to offer themselves a victory and a qualification in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time in eleven years.
But they were punished on a crippling loss of ball. Tottenham perfectly negotiated a numerical superiority counter-attack, concluded by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (1-2, 90e+5). “It’s a huge disappointment, we can only blame ourselves, commented Mattéo Guendouzi at the microphone of Canal +. We pushed to score a second goal, but we should have kept it 1-1. There was a lack of communication and experience at the end of the match. It’s just a disastrous result. »
The outcome is all the more cruel as a few minutes earlier, Sead Kolasinac believed that the Vélodrome stadium capsized with happiness. The score was still nil when the Bosnian defender missed, alone in the opposing area, his head stung (87e).
A successful start
“We started the match at the height of the event”, rightly analyzed Jonathan Clauss on Canal+. Carried by an incandescent Velodrome despite the suspension of the North bend – because of the incidents which occurred against Frankfurt during the second day -, the Phocaeans applied the same recipe as in the first leg. A high and intense pressing to stifle Tottenham.
Apart from Eric Bailly’s injury after just nine minutes of play, everything smiled on OM who got plenty of chances through Alexis Sanchez (3e19e) or Jordan Veretout (33e). A very good first period rewarded by the opening of the score of Chancel Mbemba with a powerful header on the reception of a cross from Jordan Veretout (1-0, 45e+2).
Less aggressiveness in the second half
But like their jagged European campaign, the Marseillais stopped playing when they returned from the locker room. “We started the second half badly, we were less aggressive”, explained Jonathan Clauss. The pressing was less effective and Tottenham, however deprived of Heung-Min Son – left stunned after 29 minutes of play -, gradually regained a foothold in the game. OM were no longer there and the equalizer from Frenchman Clément Lenglet, with a header, was deserved (1-1, 54e).
As often, Igor Tudor was slow to bring new blood into his training. Dimitri Payet did not come into play even though his technical touch could have relieved his people at the end of the game. This did not prevent Amine Harit (59e), Alexis Sánchez (83e), Sead Kolasinac (87e) or encore Nuno Tavares (90e+1) to get match and qualification points in the round of 16. In vain.
4 – Marseille on its last 3 appearances in the Champions League: 2013/14: 4th ❌ 2020/21: 4th❌ 2022/23:… https://t.co/3lHW9gAbz8
The cruel outcome definitely plunges Marseille into doubt. For their third consecutive participation in C1, OM finished the group stage in last place in their pool. A legitimate position since the Phocaeans only beat Sporting, who were outnumbered for most of the confrontation, going and returning (4-1 then 2-0).
Marseille must now refocus on Ligue 1 and the reception of Olympique Lyonnais, Sunday, November 6, to end its sad series of five games without a win.